Fraudsters give customers the chance to download quality templates from Dark Web marketplaces, where prices range from £2.30 to £20. Templates allow “customers” to fill out their own personal details in the DIY passport. They also sell fake documents that can be used to apply for UK passports and driving licences.

This is far cheaper than other European countries, with templates for French, German, Spanish and Dutch passports ranging from £35 to £40.

A completed UK passport is available for around £1,000.

Cloned credit cards and packages of enough personal information “for a criminal to steal and profit from a victim’s identity” are available for around £670.

Experts warned these marketplaces do not require specialist knowledge or contacts to access.

Toby Perkins MP, of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “These revelations are very concerning and show the extent to which ‘professional’ criminal gangs can make their products available and offer a serious threat to a nation’s ability to ensure that only people entitled to be here are here.

“It requires significant resources and cooperation between governments to combat this threat and I’m sure the Home Affairs Select Committee will wish to learn more about what the Home Office is doing to identify the scale of the threat and stay one step ahead of these criminal enterprises.”

The National Cyber Security Centre has acknowledged the threat, saying: “Increasingly, criminal gangs are using criminal marketplaces in cyberspace to buy and sell personal information and credit card details.”

Ian Gray, of business intelligence firm Flashpoint, which carried out the research, said: “Cybercrime communities continue to thrive.

“Passports are protected by numerous anti-fraud measures such as certain card stock, ink, perforations, patterns and more.

“Bypassing these security measures is difficult. But it is a challenge many operating within cybercrime communities have accepted, and some are finding success.

“Those with higher quality documents and proficiency in bypassing anti-fraud measures can demand a premium for passports.

“It is not completely easy to access these marketplaces…But there are more accessible markets where these goods are being sold.”

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