E-fraud forced to change tack

Cyberfraudsters are being hit by the financial crisis. Even if they steal people's details to set up accounts in false names, the banks are refusing them credit.

Online robbers are turning instead to the more sophisticated e-crime of raiding people's existing accounts.

A report from the all-party parliamentary group of MPs that monitors web-based crime has reported that instances of traditional forms of identity theft, most notably application fraud, is down year-on-year.

It has been replaced by what the MPs call a vast increase in cases of fraudsters tapping into existing accounts and credit-card details.

MP Nigel Evans said: "Fraudsters are investing in technology to clone information. They are being smart as we [the public] are not being smart enough."

One popular scam is emails purporting to be from Revenue & Customs asking for bank account information to send a tax rebate.