The largest single loss reported to consumer group Which? was nearly £400,000, with most people losing on average £1,200.

UK consumers make over 70 million bank transfers a month, but victims conned into transferring money to a scammer have no legal right to get their money back from their bank, unlike with payment methods such as credit and debit cards.

Which? is submitting stories from victims of scams to regulators as evidence in its super-complaint into bank transfer fraud.

It said some of the scams were “incredibly sophisticated” and consumers could not be expected to spot they were the target of fraudulent activity.

Alex Neill, managing director of Which? Legal Services, said: “The harsh reality is if you’re conned into making a payment to a fraudster via bank transfer you often stand to lose large sums of money.

“We expect the financial regulators to use this opportunity to take meaningful action and propose new measures to help the victims of bank transfer fraud.”