Insights

Pension fraud - how to protect yourself

Action Fraud, the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, is warning people - especially those reaching retirement age - to protect their pensions and look out for criminals trying to con them out of their life savings.

Data from Action Fraud reveals a there were 519 reports of pension fraud in 2024, totalling £17.5 million lost - an average loss of roughly £48,129 per day.

How does pension fraud happen?

Action Fraud’s analysis suggests that the two most prevalent ways criminals targeted victims were:

Investment fraud pressuring tactics
Impersonating victims in order to take overs their pension scheme

So now Action Fraud, with support from the Pension Scams Action Group (PSAG), has launched a pension fraud awareness campaign, warning people to take extra measures to protect their pension scheme accounts and to be cautious of investment opportunity offers from criminals that could be targeting them.

3 ways to protect yourself

Unsolicited advice
if you get a ‘cold call’ or call out of the blue about your pension, the best and safest thing to do is hang up. It is illegal and most likely a fraudster. If you get offers via email or text, these should be ignored also.
Get advice first
If you’re considering changing your pension arrangements, you should get financial advice first. If you want to find an adviser, make sure they’re authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority NEVER take advice from the company that contacted you, it could be part of the scam.
Investment 'opportunities'
Don’t be rushed into making an investment. Remember, if an organisation was legitimate, they would never pressure you into investing on the spot.

Investment opportunities should be treated with extreme caution if there’s:

Pressure to invest (e.g. time-limited offers)
Downplayed risk of losing your money
Promised returns that sound too good to be true.

If you have been a victim:

Report it: If you’re concerned about a potential scam, or you think you may have been contacted by a fraudster, report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, report it to Police Scotland on 101.

If you have made a payment: tell your bank as soon as possible. They can help you prevent any further losses. Monitor your bank statements regularly for any unusual activity.

Find out more, including extra tips on the Action Fraud site.

12 September 2025

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