The financial corporation found that millions of people are making life easy for identity fraudsters by leaving private information unattended outside the home.

According to Capital One, four million motorists leave their MOT documents inside their car, 3.6 million keep their insurance policies there and 2.7 million have their vehicle registration document inside their car.

A huge 1.3 million drivers have had documents like these stolen from their cars – whilst more than two million have had personal documents stolen from their person whilst outside the home.

“The best advice is to avoid taking personal documents out of the home unless it’s absolutely necessary to do so,” advises Dan Cobley from Capital One.

“And people should take particular care not leave valuable documents unattended at work and in the car.”

Identity fraud is a growing problem by which fraudsters can use personal details to obtain credit cards, loans and other financial products in another person’s name.

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