Streatham has been named as an emerging hotspot for fraud.

Financial data analyst Experian said the area was one of several less affluent areas in London to see far higher than average instances of first-party fraud attempts.

The company, that helps businesses target fraud, believes the increase is because organised criminals are moving into the mass market and recession-hit consumers are also falsifying their data.

Young couples, singles and rented home sharers are being hit as fraudsters seek to commit high-volumes of low value frauds using the identities of more easily impersonated victims.

Nick Mothershaw, director of fraud and identity solutions at Experian, said: "Attempted fraud is on the increase and the nature of the threat is changing.

Organised criminal fraudsters are moving into the mass-market, looking beyond those with obvious wealth towards lower-value but more vulnerable targets.

"At the same time, financial stress brought about by the recession is driving increasing numbers of people to commit fraud to maintain their lifestyles."

The report suggests that mortgage and insurance providers could be hit to the tune of £1.2bn and £2.5bn worth of fraud respectively in 2010.