A SHOCKING report has revealed that St Albans residents are twice as likely to fall victim to identity fraud than nearly anyone else in the UK.

The district of St Albans was this week named as the UK's top hotspot for ID fraud outside London, in an ID fraud league table collated by financial information provider Experian.

It says single, wealthy, professionals who rent or homeshare continue to make the area a prime target for criminals with one in two people at risk of identity fraud, including credit card cloning and the opening of fraudulent accounts.

As a result Hertfordshire Constabulary's Economic Crime Unit has told people living in the district to be extra vigilant and to get into the habit of shredding credit card and bank statements and even utility bills.

Detective Inspector Andy Theakston told the Observer: "Credit card cloning is a massive problem.

"The vast majority of what people call identity theft is having their credit card or financial details cloned.

"The number of victims of impersonation last year was up across the area, but not all of those got to the point where money was taken out of their account. This is still a problem to us.

"We have a dedicated team which deals with this type of crime, which can be highly sophisticated.

"A lot of the criminals work in gangs which can be global."

Experian spokesman James Jones said that St Albans was being targetted because criminals believe residents have more cash than in other areas.

He said: "We have found that many of the consumer types likely to be targeted are found in St Albans.

"Fraudsters will deliberately target people who have a few bob.

"More still needs to be done to protect your personal information as St Albans is the highest area at risk outside of London.

"People must realise that their personal details are as precious as the money in their wallet."

The report details the types of people who are "high value" and "easy targets" with those renting either privately or from local authorities at the top of the list.

A new Fraud Act brought out last year now means that victims of credit card cloning can contact the company which in turn reports it to the police.

Mr Theakston added that this new legislation means it will be easier for them to get a better picture of the crime trend as nine out of ten people still do not report identity theft.

The top three false or stolen documents used by fraudsters to attempt identity fraud in 2006 were utility bills, then passports, and then bank statements.