Banks, credit card companies and insurance providers have been warned to be on the look out for fraudsters.

The prevalence of application fraud increased by 24 per cent between 2004 and 2007, with the average fraudster getting younger and more women getting involved.

London dominated the most common locations for fraud with the north, east and south-east of the capital all making the top five.

"The increased use of false documents means that front-line staff must be trained to spot them," said CIFAS chief executive Peter Hurst.

"This training should not be confined to identity documents like passports, where guidance in how to spot fraudulent ones is readily available."

"It should also concentrate on other documents such as utility bills and bank statements," he added.

The 24 per cent rise meant there were 77,000 cases of application fraud last year, with the average age 35 for men and 34 for women.

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