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London - the UK's financial capital - is also the country's number one location for identity fraud, a study has revealed.
Figures showed 19 of the 20 postcode areas in Britain worst affected by the crime are inside the M25 - and the other one is just outside, in Maidenhead.
CIFAS, an industry body that helps companies share information to fight fraud, compiled the list.
Its 270 members managed to foil attempts at fraud worth £741m over the nine months to October - but it is estimated that losses from stolen identities total nearly £2bn a year.
One of the fastest-growing areas of identity theft is called "current address fraud", which sees the victim scammed by someone living at the same address as them.
The crook applies for and uses products in the name of the victim - who could be a next-door neighbour in their block of flats - and then intercepts their post.
Con merchants also steal identities by falsely claiming their victim has changed their address, and order goods and services in their name to a new, fictional address, where they can collect them.
CIFAS chief executive Peter Hurst said: "Our statistics for the first three quarters of the year show a clear and worrying trend. Fraudulent activity is at an all-time high.
"Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated and fraud departments are working harder than ever to protect their organisations from the onslaught."
The worst-affected postcode areas for identity fraud in the UK are:
1. SE16 Greenwich
2. CR0 Croydon
3. IG11 Barking
4. SL6 Maidenhead
5. SE13 Lewisham
6. E6 Newham
7. SW11 Battersea
8. E17 Walthamstow
9. N14 Southgate
10. N4 Stoke Newington/Harringay
11. N16 Stoke Newington
12. E11 Leyton/Wanstead
13. NW2 Cricklewood/Willesden
14. BR3 Beckhenham
15. HA3 Wealdstone
16. SW18 Wandsworth
17. E2 Bethnal Green
18. NW10 Willesden/Harlesden
19. NW3 Hampstead
20. N22 Wood Green
Figures showed 19 of the 20 postcode areas in Britain worst affected by the crime are inside the M25 - and the other one is just outside, in Maidenhead.
CIFAS, an industry body that helps companies share information to fight fraud, compiled the list.
Its 270 members managed to foil attempts at fraud worth £741m over the nine months to October - but it is estimated that losses from stolen identities total nearly £2bn a year.
One of the fastest-growing areas of identity theft is called "current address fraud", which sees the victim scammed by someone living at the same address as them.
The crook applies for and uses products in the name of the victim - who could be a next-door neighbour in their block of flats - and then intercepts their post.
Con merchants also steal identities by falsely claiming their victim has changed their address, and order goods and services in their name to a new, fictional address, where they can collect them.
CIFAS chief executive Peter Hurst said: "Our statistics for the first three quarters of the year show a clear and worrying trend. Fraudulent activity is at an all-time high.
"Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated and fraud departments are working harder than ever to protect their organisations from the onslaught."
The worst-affected postcode areas for identity fraud in the UK are:
1. SE16 Greenwich
2. CR0 Croydon
3. IG11 Barking
4. SL6 Maidenhead
5. SE13 Lewisham
6. E6 Newham
7. SW11 Battersea
8. E17 Walthamstow
9. N14 Southgate
10. N4 Stoke Newington/Harringay
11. N16 Stoke Newington
12. E11 Leyton/Wanstead
13. NW2 Cricklewood/Willesden
14. BR3 Beckhenham
15. HA3 Wealdstone
16. SW18 Wandsworth
17. E2 Bethnal Green
18. NW10 Willesden/Harlesden
19. NW3 Hampstead
20. N22 Wood Green
