Protection firm CCP said that the 'don't care' attitudes of fraud victims have left them liable to more attacks.

According to research, just one-third of identity theft victims take action to reduce the likelihood of another fraud attack, and one in five victims don't understand how they can keep their data safe, or are too lazy to do anything again.

A spokesman for CCP said that refusing to give out personal details over the phone, Internet or by e-mail could help reduce the chances of becoming a victim of ID theft, Ananova reported.