Barclays has launched a new caller ID service to fight scams in mid phone call.

The new feature is on its app and website and it lets customers check whether callers claiming to be from the bank are genuine – while they are on the phone.

The caller identification service is designed to fight impersonation scams, where fraudsters pretend to be phoning from organisations such as banks to trick victims into transferring money or personal details.

Some scammers are even able to spoof numbers to make it look like they’re calling from a legitimate organisation – but this new feature will confirm whether an incoming call is from a genuine Barclays’ employee.

At the moment, the feature is only available to Barclays Premier customers – who must have £100,000 saved or invested with the bank, or pay in an annual salary of at least £75,000 – but Barclays says it will be rolled out to all customers “over the coming months”.

How Does Caller ID Work?

Eligible customers will be able to use the feature on the Barclays APP. It is also available in online banking when using a browser on your phone.

If you’re unsure if the call is from Barclays, it will check if you have the Barclays app or are registered for online banking.

If you are, Barclays will offer the verification service and send you a notification.

You then log in to either your Barclays app or online banking and open your notification. This confirms the caller’s name and asks if you’d like to continue with the call.

Barclays checks the response and you then complete the typical identification checks and the call continues as usual.

If you have any experiences with scammers, spammers or time-waster do let me know, by email.