Three-quarters of adults in the UK are worried about identity fraud – but two-thirds admit they are not doing enough to protect themselves against it.

Concerns over identity fraud are on the rise, according to a report out on Monday by Lloyds TSB, as people fear that unemployment may have driven more people to carry out fraud.

Over a third of those surveyed feel more at risk now than they did six months ago. Two-thirds of people also fear that social networking sites such as Facebook have made it easier for people to steal personal details.

Separately, a study out today finds that 97 per cent of employees are not confident that businesses can protect their customers from identity fraud.

The study, part of the National Identity Fraud Prevention Week campaign which starts on Monday, found that a third of small and medium-sized businesses had been affected by fraud.

It urged businesses to develop an anti-fraud policy and to make better use of shredders to destroy all documents with sensitive information.

Identity fraud costs the UK economy over £1.2bn a year. The UK’s fraud prevention service, CIFAS, said in a report out today that nearly 60,000 people in the UK have been victims of fraud so far this year, a 36 per cent increase on the same period last year.