In the first five months of this year, some of the UK's main high street banks have reported losses of over £21 million from vishing attacks, wherein consumers are tricked into handing over personal financial information.
The fresh data equates to over 2000 vishing attacks resulting in an average loss of over £10,000 per victim.
It coincides with the launch of a new awareness campaign on the dangers of social engineering run by GetSafeOnline in conjunction with major banks, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and Action Fraud.
According to Financial Fraud UK, approximately 23% of people in the UK have received a cold call requesting personal or financial information, potentially putting them at risk of becoming a victim.
Alex Grant, Barclays managing director of fraud prevention, comments: "We've seen from our own interaction with customers who have fallen victim to social engineering frauds that the loss of hard earned savings causes great emotional distress, as well has having a significant financial impact. This is why raising awareness about social engineering scams and protecting customers from fraud is one of our highest priorities."