Just a week after a group of MPs urged the government to do more to protect consumers from fraudsters, research by employee benefits consultancy Portus revealed 14% of working over-55s have been targeted by a pension scheme scam since the new rules, allowing savers unprecedented access to their funds, were introduced.

The findings found that 24 per cent were offered products to invest pension savings in without explaining what they were, while 27 per cent were offered ‘exotic’ investment schemes promising attractive levels of return.

Overall, 69 per cent said suspected fraudsters tried to access their funds by offering a ‘free’ pensions review. It is believed there could be over 1,600 suspicious companies or schemes involved in UK pension scams.

The research revealed that 52 per cent of over-55s have been targeted once by pension scammers since April, 35 per cent have been approached up to five times and 13 per cent have been approached more than five times.

The most common method used by potential scammers was email, cited by 36 per cent of people who believe they have been targeted, followed by phone (33 per cent) and post (28 per cent).

Between April and August this year, City of London Police estimate scammers stole over £9m from savers. However, Portus believes the true figure could be higher, as only 12 per cent of people who believe they have been targeted have reported it to the authorities.

“The pension freedoms are to be welcomed because they give people greater control over how they use their own money. However, more needs to be done to educate people about pension scammers and also capture and deter these criminals,” said Steve Watson, Portus Consulting commercial director.

“The amount of money savers lost to pension scammers between April and August this year was just over £9m, around twice as much as the same period in 2014. However, these figures could be just the tip of the iceberg because our research shows that many people don’t report the fact that they have been targeted.”

How to protect yourself against a pension scam

• Be wary of callers speaking of tax loopholes, offering to unlock your pension before you reach 55
• Be on guard against companies offering unusual investment schemes offering high returns
• Don’t feel pressured into transferring funds or sending documents quickly
• Be wary of any company or person who first makes contact with you via email, phone, text message or door-to-door
• Check the company you are speaking to is registered with the FCA

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