People receiving two scam calls each week on average, survey indicates

The average UK adult receives two scam calls each week, research has indicated.

Nationwide Building Society, which commissioned the survey, found more than half (57%) of people believe that suspect calls are becoming more frequent.

More than a quarter (28%) of people surveyed said they are not confident in spotting a genuine call from their bank.

The society has introduced a new feature to build on its “scam checker” service.

It enables customers to instantly confirm whether the call they are on is genuine, through Nationwide’s banking app.

Customers can open the app, go to “more”, and “call checker”, to see if they are on a call with Nationwide.

Fraudsters may ask victims to share personal details, provide security codes, transfer money or even to lie to their bank or building society, Nationwide warned.

While over half (53%) of people said they hang up immediately when they become suspicious about a call, only 29% report it to their bank.

Jim Winters, director of economic crime at Nationwide, said: “Scammers are becoming more sophisticated and impersonation calls are one of the most common ways they trick people into handing over money.

“We are programmed to trust people and when someone uses clever tactics and well-practised scripts – often putting us under pressure or making us panic – it can be hard to know who to trust.

“Our call checker feature gives our customers peace of mind by confirming if a call is genuine or not. It’s a simple and effective step that could prevent someone from becoming the next crime statistic.”

The survey of 2,000 people was carried out by Censuswide in December.