Pension scam victims lose an average of £91,000 each as fraudsters see opportunity to loot pension pots, as Action Fraud revealed that a total of 253 victims reported losing more than £23m to scammers in 2017.

Following the release of these figures from Action Fraud, city regulators are now launching a new campaign aimed at alerting people, particularly those in their 40s, 50, and 60s, to the risk of pension fraud and urge savers to check that the pension firm they are dealing with is authorised.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Financial Lives report suggested that 107,000 people aged between 55 and 64 could potentially have fallen victim to pension scams in 2017.

The scam starts with an unexpected call, text, social media or email approach, offering a free pension review, or a method of making attractive returns on pension savings.

However, once the scammer has access to your pension savings, the money may be stolen, or transferred into a high-risk scheme completely inappropriate for retirement savings. Many schemes offer eye-catching returns or high-rolling investment in hotels or green energy schemes that never materialise, or instead lead to losses.

Despite the figures from Action Fraud and the FCA, it is estimated that only a minority of pension scams are ever reported.

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