Vishing attacks hits £21 million in 2014

By Alex Rolfe Fraud & Security
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Since the beginning of 2014, some of the UK’s main high street banks have reported losses of over £21 million from vishing attacks, where 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

A phone showing a Vishing attack

Vishing fraud nets £21 million in first five months of 2014

£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 – reports Finextra. 

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.”

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