Some pension scam victims lose more than £1m to fraudsters

Data from Action Fraud, the national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre, reveals that two people have reported losing seven-figure sums.

It says this may only be a fraction of the total number who have handed over such large pension pots, as the majority of scam victims never contact the authorities.

Action Fraud’s data also reveals that on average, victims of pension scams lost £91,000 each to fraudsters in 2017. They reported receiving cold-calls, offers of free pension reviews and promises that they would get high rates of return – all of which are key warning signs of scams.

A ban on pension cold calling came into force earlier this month and firms who break the rules can face penalties of up to half a million pounds.