Around two-thirds of those who make fraudulent claims in their applications for credit, financial services or insurance are male, a new report states.

The study, from the UK's fraud prevention service CIFAS, also shows that the majority of fraudulent claims are from people aged between 26 and 40 years old - with only seven per cent coming from the over-50s age group.

Of all male application fraudsters, 64 per cent lie to conceal poor credit history (compared to 77 per cent of females).

Nine per cent of males and seven per cent of women lie about their employment and salary and ten per cent forge a document in support of their application.

"Those who think that lying on application forms will give them any advantage need to realise that their efforts are counter-productive," Peter Hurst, chief executive of CIFAS, commented.

"Fraud data sharing means that such lies are easy to detect and, far from enhancing an applicant's chances, will be detrimental to their application. Telling the truth, even if it is slightly less palatable, remains the best policy."

CIFAS figures recently showed that application fraud increased by 21 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2007.