Action Fraud issues pension scams warning as fraudsters steal ‘£50k a day’

Figures from the UK’s leading anti-fraud agency suggest pension scams have been on the increase since the cost of living crisis. Here’s how to keep your nest egg safe.

A retired woman looks concerned as she holds her credit card because she may have fallen victim to pension scams (image: Getty Images)
Pension scams are on the rise, new Action Fraud data suggests (image: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Almost £50,000 a day was stolen as a result of pension scams in 2023, new data from the UK’s leading fraud prevention agency has shown.

According to Action Fraud, scammers walked away with £17.7m last year by tricking people out of their lifetime savings. The figure suggests there has been a significant uptick in the number of cases since the cost of living crisis.

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Henry Sandercock has spent more than eight years as a journalist covering a wide variety of beats. Having studied for an MA in journalism at the University of Kent, he started his career in the garden of England as a reporter for local TV channel KMTV.

Henry then worked at the BBC for three years as a radio producer - mostly on BBC Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine, but also on major BBC Radio 4 programmes like The World at One, PM and Broadcasting House. Switching to print media, he covered fresh foods for respected magazine The Grocer for two years.

After moving to NationalWorld.com - a national news site run by the publisher of The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post - Henry began reporting on the cost of living crisis, becoming the title’s money editor in early 2023. He covered everything from the energy crisis to scams, and inflation. He also has bylines in MoneyWeek.