Many Britons are failing to take the most basic measures to protect their phone, leaving themselves as risk of theft, fraud and data loss, a new survey has revealed.

According to the study carried out by Insurance2Go, 38 per cent of Brits have no phone locking measures in place, while 57 per cent have no anti-virus software installed to protect their phone from malware.

23 per cent of respondents had experienced someone else accessing their social media accounts without their knowledge. Of this group, half admitted people had made posts on their behalf, while one in six said intruders had used their accounts to access sensitive information or purchase items.

In addition, fewer than half the people surveyed regularly backed up data stored on their phone to help them recover important files, photos and music in case of phone loss or theft.

PIN codes were the most popular method of protecting phones, followed by passwords and fingerprint scanners. Londoners proved more vigilant than the average Brit, perhaps due to the large amount of phone theft seen in the capital – according to the Metropolitan Police, more than 114,000 phones were stolen last year in London.

“With so many people leaving themselves logged into social media 24/7 and not protected by a PIN unlock system, losing a phone can mean much more than a missing handset – it can leave you open to identity fraud,” said a spokesperson from Insurance2Go.