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There is a "maturing underground economy" in trading stolen information on the web, a report by Symantec, a firm specialising in web security and information management has found.

Bank account details have become the most frequently advertised item sold in so-called "cyber crime supermarkets" making up 22% of all goods and selling for as little as around £5, the report noted.

Credit card information accounted for 13% of all advertised goods, it said.

Credit cards from the European Union cost more than those from the US, probably because of the smaller supply of cards circulating in the EU, which makes the card more valuable to criminals.

Phishing, or the practice of tricking people into giving out confidential information, is also continuing to be a problem, the report noted.

In the last six months of 2007, Symantec said it observed 87,963 phishing hosts, or computers that can host one or more phishing web sites, an increase of 167% from the first half of 2007. A total of 80% of brands targeted by phishing attacks during the study period were in the financial sector.

The report was compiled from data collection by millions of internet sensors and research and monitoring of communications by hackers.

Stephen Trilling, vice president, Symantec Security Technology and Response, said: "Avoiding the dark alleys of the internet was sufficient advice in years past.

"Today's criminal is focused on compromising legitimate web sites to launch attacks on end-users, which underscores the importance of maintaining a strong security posture no matter where you go and what you do on the internet."