London is the card-not-present (CNP) fraud capital of the country, according to a study released security specialists The 3rd Man and 192business.com.
Based on analysis of over 30 million 'good' and 'bad' card transactions between January and June 2008, the research focuses on fraudulent activity by postcode.
The new research has revealed south-east London as the CNP fraud capital of the UK, with Thamesmead (SE28), highlighted as a hotspot.
Other places in the top ten include Manchester (5th), Romford (3rd) and Ilford (8th) in Essex, and Dartford (10th) in Kent. In the Midlands, Coventry (7th) is followed by Nottingham (9th).
The research shows that Liverpool and Kilmarnock have reduced card crime levels since a previous study in 2006 "because local policing activity has targeted these criminals and it's having a clear effect," says Andrew Goodwill, director, 3rd Man Group.
"By exposing where fraudsters congregate and how exactly they deceive and steal, the police and other law enforcement authorities should be able to deal with the problem more effectively," adds Goodwill.
The security firms also claim that losses from card-not-present (CNP) fraud are far higher than official statistics suggest. For every incident of CNP fraud that is reported in the UK, a further eight attempted frauds go unreported, according to a survey of users of 192business.com's customer ID check service.