The Experian Consumer Services WiFi Hotspots consumer survey of 1,641 adults in the UK discovered that only a third considered the security of the WiFi network before connecting.

However half of those surveyed said they do not understand whether a WiFi network is secure or open when they connect to it via their smartphones, tablets or laptops, despite almost two thirds stating that they use WiFi to access emails.

The report also found one in ten use WiFi hotspots to bank online. 58% of the respondents said their mobile devices automatically connect to available free WiFi networks.

Peter Turner, managing director of Experian Consumer Services UK&I, said: “WiFi services and the vast choice of mobile devices are empowering us to live more of our online lives whilst on the go. Whilst this brings many advantages, we still need to be wary of any public unsecure WiFi hotspots.

“Think of them like you would a public phone call. You would not openly discuss something personal or private if you thought people were listening, so don’t say it with your laptop, tablet or smartphone. By being blasé, we are all putting ourselves at risk of identity theft.”

It was also announced today that the Financial Conduct Authority will be reviewing the mobile banking industry, in a bid to make sure that banks have the right IT systems in place and that enough is being done to protect customers from fraudsters.

The regulator’s review comes amid growing fears that the mobile payment market is developing at such a speed it will be difficult for Britain’s biggest high street banks to keep up and protect consumers adequately.

Simple steps that can help protect the data sent and received through open WiFi networks:

• Don’t do it now if you can do it later. Really important tasks such as online banking should be done at home, using your secure home network.

• Turn off automatic connection to favourite or preferred networks on your devices. Remember, almost anyone can set up an open WiFi hotspot and so, a hacker only has to use a common network name for a fake hotspot, and you could be automatically connecting to it because the same name is in your preferred network list. Also, check with the venue’s employees to confirm the name of their network.

• Look for the lock icon to the left of the site’s URL in the address bar or check the URL for “https://” to see if the site uses SSL* (Secure Sockets Layer) if you’re entering sensitive personal information on a web page.

• Don’t use any apps if you don’t know whether they encrypt data. Depending on the apps you use on a device, you may be sharing personal information or logon details over WiFi that are not encrypted. One example of this is POP3 e-mail accounts. Your logon details may be shared, as well as your e-mails, completely unencrypted.

• Consider getting a personal VPN. Using a VPN provider can offer a way to protect your data as it travels over open WiFi connections.

People who think they have become victims of identity fraud should notify the police, contact their bank and check their credit report.