HSBC has suggested that despite the development of several online fraud techniques such as pharming -a method used to fool victims into believing they have reached a legitimate website and handing over sensitive details; fraudsters are more likely to commit ID theft using more traditional methods such as stealing documents or bills from bins that hold reference to personal details. Another popular method is intercepting cheques in the post whilst they are on route to the recipient.

Figures provided by APACS -the UK Payments Association indicate that the usage of cheques as a payment method is down by 7.5% in the last year, and halved over the last ten years. Meanwhile, banking online has become the norm, allowing customer to access their funds instantly and have full control over their bank accounts.

Faster Payments is a Service that enables electronic payments, traditionally made on the internet or over the phone, to be processed within a matter of hours rather than days. The payments association said that the new system now handles close to two thirds of internet and phone transactions currently made in the UK.

However, HSBC's research suggests that fraud systems are not yet up to speed with this technology. "Fraud is far more likely to happen if someone has retrieved personal details from your bin, if you have been a little careless with your bank statements or other personal information. Online payments are extremely secure. There is only a very small amount of people who pay online, and use online banking to pay bills, that have ever experienced, or know anybody that has experienced fraud as a result of their use of the internet." a spokesman said.