What to do if you believe you're a victim of a pension scam

If you’re unfortunately the victim of a pension scam, then don’t panic. 

Instead, it’s important to act quickly by reporting the fraud to the right people. This could help to protect your accounts as far as possible. In some cases, it could potentially allow you to recover your stolen money. However, this isn't guaranteed.

Here are the steps to take. 

1. Speak to your bank and pension provider 

The first port of call is your bank or pension provider, depending on what you’ve authorised the scammer to do.

Your provider may be able to block a transfer or take steps to protect your account before any money is taken from it. If you’ve only made a partial transfer, they can prevent the rest from being taken.

They'll also flag the scam to the authorities, and may be able to offer guidance on what you should do next.

2. Speak to your financial adviser 

If you work with an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA), it’s also worth letting them know about the fraud. They’ll be able to guide you through reporting the scam. 

They can help you limit the effects on your wider finances, too. For example, they might suggest ways to reorganise your wealth so you can stay financially secure, despite any savings you’ve lost.

3. Tell Report Fraud

Report Fraud is the way to tell the police if you’ve been the victim of cyber crime or fraud.

Replacing Action Fraud in December 2025, the service helps you report crime to the police and access any support you may need.

Even if it isn’t possible to get your money back from scammers, it’s important to tell Report Fraud. Reporting your experience provides vital data that could help save someone else from falling victim to the same scam.

4. Check if you should report it to the FCA or FSCS 

In the case of a pension scam, and after speaking to Report Fraud, you should report it to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The FCA keeps an eye on UK financial firms. If a firm hasn’t acted appropriately, the FCA may be able to intervene. It might investigate the firm, stop any unauthorised activity, and place fines or even pursue legal action against it.

Note that the FCA won’t update you on the investigation, and it can’t help you recover money. If someone contacts you saying they’re the FCA and they’ve recovered your money, ignore them. This is likely what’s called a ‘recovery room scam’, in which fraudsters target you after you’ve already been scammed. They’ll tell you they’ve recovered your money, and then try to scam you again.

If the fraud relates to a failed financial firm, you should also contact the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The scheme can protect your wealth up to certain limits if your provider becomes unable to pay out to you.

The FSCS can provide up to:

• 100% of your claim if your pension provider fails;
• £85,000 if your provider was a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) operator; or
• £85,000 if a firm gave you bad pension advice.

What happens after reporting a pension scam?

Once you’ve reported the scam to those that need to know, a few things usually happen.

Firstly, your providers will block any outstanding transfers. It may be too late to do this, but most will generally try to prevent fraudsters from taking more of your money.

Next, the various authorities will investigate the scam. The police will look into criminal activity. They may try to recover your money, although this often isn’t possible. Even so, they’ll continue to investigate to try and prevent someone else from falling victim to the same scam.

The FCA will also usually investigate if the scam involves a regulated firm, or a firm that claims to be regulated. They may suspend the firm’s permissions to trade if they suspect it’s been acting outside of its allowed activities.

As for the FSCS, this will only act if you’ve lost money because your provider failed and it was covered by the scheme. 

How to spot a pension scam

It can be powerful to know the telltale signs of pension scams so you can avoid falling victim to fraud in the first place.

Here are a few things to watch out for so you can keep your money safe:

• Contact out of the blue - whether it’s on the phone or via email, if someone contacts you out of the blue to talk about your pension, be careful. Fraudsters may pretend to be an authoritative source, such as your bank, pension provider, or HMRC. If you’re in any doubt, ignore the email or hang up the phone and get in touch with whoever they claimed to be using your usual contact method.
• Poor spelling and grammar - emails or texts with spelling mistakes or incorrect grammar are a giveaway that something’s wrong. Also, check website addresses and make sure they’re correct before inputting any details.
• High-pressure or time-sensitive sales tactics - real financial providers won’t put pressure on you or tell you to act in a certain time frame. If someone does this, it’s likely a scam.
• Guarantees of unrealistic investment returns - fraudsters might tell you they’ll give you big returns on your money, guaranteed. Beware anyone saying they can offer big returns with no risk. No returns are guaranteed and your investments could fall or rise in value. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Promises of early pension access - often, scammers will say that they can help you access your pension before the Normal Minimum Pension Age (55, rising to 57 from 2028). Known as ‘pension liberation’, this is technically possible in certain circumstances. However, if you’re under the pension age, you’ll usually pay a large amount of tax, as well as a fee to the fraudster. This could leave you with nothing, or even needing to pay a charge to HMRC while you lose your entire pension pot.

It’s sensible to be aware of these characteristics of a scam, as well as some of the common scams that fraudsters might use.

Remember that fraud is constantly evolving and changing. Try to stay up to date with the latest information and guidance so you can best protect yourself.

We often update the PensionBee website and blog with news about scams. 

Summary

If you do find yourself the victim of a pension scam, don’t judge yourself too harshly. 

Getting scammed can make you feel ashamed or guilty. But fraudsters are always innovating and thinking of new ways to steal your wealth. As the data shows, those tactics are very convincing in tricking people into handing over access to their money.

The key thing to do if you’ve been scammed is to act quickly. Contact your relevant provider and the authorities, and then make sure your accounts are as secure as possible.

If you’re a PensionBee customer and you’ve been targeted by a scammer, or you’d like to find out more, contact your personal account manager (your ‘BeeKeeper’).

Risk warning

As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.

Last edited: 22-05-2026