The UK's fraud prevention service CIFAS says it has seen a 159 per cent increase in account takeover fraud – where a fraudster gains access to an innocent victim's account – in the year to date, compared with the same period in 2007.

It says at least part of the dramatic rise is a result of the economic slowdown as people attempt to bypass stricter lending controls to get their hands on ready credit.

Fraudsters get the details they need by a variety of means including sending phishing e-mails seeking personal details, or by the intercepting of people's post and stealing credit cards and statements in order to take over an account, divert or fraudulently order goods.

CIFAS members have also noted another change in the fraud landscape, with a significant rise in misuse of facility cases. This is where a fraudster obtains an account, policy or other facility with the deliberate intent of using it fraudulently.

In 2007 there were 23,400 misuse of facility cases, according to CIFAS, while the first eight months of this year has already seen 26,055 cases. If this rise continues, by the end of the year it would mean an increase of 67 per cent.

Bank account products are the most commonly misused, with plastic cards, communications and mail order accounts also proving to be popular with fraudsters.

There may be various reasons for these increases but there is also evidence that fraudsters are increasingly turning to hacking into accounts as a means of bypassing stricter lending criteria and the need to prove identity when applying for credit - resulting in an account being hijacked, without the actual fraudster being identified.

The chief executive of CIFAS, Peter Hurst, said: "As people feel the pinch in the economic downturn, many take more desperate measures to make ends meet.

"The fight against fraud has to respond to the fraudsters' latest initiatives as well as remaining as attentive to older, more traditional, methods of committing fraud."