ScamSmart — FCA's Pension Scam Checker Explained

Alongside the main Financial Services Register, the FCA (the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK's financial regulator) runs a second, purpose-built tool called ScamSmart, designed specifically to help ordinary savers check a pension or investment opportunity before committing any money to it. It's free, takes only a few minutes, and is worth using alongside the step where you verify they are FCA authorised on the main register — the two tools ask slightly different questions and catch slightly different things. This guide explains exactly what ScamSmart is for, how to use it properly, and why relying on it alone isn't quite enough on its own.

What ScamSmart actually is

ScamSmart is a free FCA tool and public awareness campaign aimed squarely at helping people spot pension and investment scams before they commit to anything, rather than after money has already been lost. It sits alongside, but is distinct from, the main Financial Services Register: where the register is a comprehensive database of every authorised firm and individual in the UK, ScamSmart is a more focused, consumer-facing service built around two things — a short interactive questionnaire that flags common warning signs in your specific situation, and a warning list of firms and individuals the FCA has specifically identified as operating without authorisation or targeting UK consumers with scams. Because it was built with everyday consumers in mind rather than financial professionals, ScamSmart tends to use plainer language and a more guided format than the main register, which makes it a good first stop if you're feeling uncertain about an approach and want quick, tailored guidance rather than a raw database search.

The ScamSmart warning list — what it covers

The warning list is one of the most directly useful parts of ScamSmart. It names specific firms and individuals that the FCA has identified as either operating without the necessary authorisation, or as actively targeting UK consumers with scam pension and investment offers — sometimes including clone firms impersonating genuine, authorised businesses. Checking a firm's name against this list is a quick extra step that goes beyond simply confirming authorisation: it asks a different question entirely. Rather than "is this firm allowed to do what it says it's doing," the warning list asks "has the regulator specifically flagged this name as a problem." A firm appearing on the warning list is about as unambiguous a red flag as exists anywhere in this section of the site — if a name you've been given appears there, stop immediately and do not proceed under any circumstances, regardless of how convincing the approach has otherwise seemed.

How to use the ScamSmart tool practically

The ScamSmart questionnaire itself works less like a database search and more like a short, guided conversation. You answer a small series of straightforward questions about the situation you're in — whether you were contacted out of the blue, whether you're being pressured to act quickly, whether you're being offered guaranteed high returns, whether the firm has asked you to keep the opportunity confidential, and similar prompts — and the tool responds with tailored guidance based on your specific answers, rather than a single generic warning that applies to everyone. This makes it a genuinely useful starting point if you're not sure whether something feels right but can't immediately put your finger on why; working through the questions often crystallises exactly which warning signs are present in your situation, which then gives you a clearer, more specific basis for the follow-up checks covered elsewhere in this section, particularly the main register search and the direct questions worth asking any adviser.

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  Search the ScamSmart warning list first for the specific firm or individual name you've been given, including any trading names mentioned.

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  Work through the short questionnaire honestly, based on exactly what's happened so far — how you were contacted, what you've been promised, and any pressure you've felt to act quickly.

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  Read the tailored guidance ScamSmart gives you carefully, rather than skimming past it — it's written to reflect the specific pattern in your answers, not a generic disclaimer.

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  Follow up with a full search of the main FCA register for the firm and any individual adviser named, checking status and permissions as covered in our register guide.

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  If either check raises any concern at all, pause the process entirely rather than proceeding "just to be safe" — there is rarely any genuine urgency in a legitimate pension decision that can't withstand a short delay.

Why check both ScamSmart and the main FCA register

It's worth being clear that ScamSmart and the main register aren't competing tools, and using one doesn't make the other redundant — they cover different ground, and together they catch considerably more than either does alone. The warning list is excellent at flagging known bad actors specifically: firms and individuals the FCA already has evidence against. But it can't flag a new scam operation that hasn't been reported and investigated yet, simply because it hasn't appeared on the FCA's radar. The main register, by contrast, confirms genuine authorisation directly and in real time, which catches unauthorised operators regardless of whether they've been specifically flagged as a known scam yet. Used together, the two checks are considerably more powerful than either alone: the register tells you whether someone is allowed to be doing what they're doing right now, and the warning list tells you whether the regulator has already identified them as a specific problem. Skipping either one leaves a genuine gap in your defences.

What ScamSmart's silence doesn't tell you

It's important to be realistic about one specific limitation: a firm or individual's name not appearing on the ScamSmart warning list does not, by itself, prove they're legitimate. The warning list can only include names the FCA has already investigated and specifically flagged — brand new scam operations, freshly registered shell companies, or simply names that haven't yet come to the regulator's attention won't appear there, even if they are, in fact, operating fraudulently right now. This is precisely why the warning list should never be treated as a standalone clean bill of health. Always follow it up with the main register check, and don't let a clear result on ScamSmart alone talk you out of caution you'd otherwise apply. Absence of a warning is reassuring, but it isn't the same thing as confirmation of legitimacy — that confirmation only comes from a genuine, current "Authorised" status on the main register, matched to the specific activity being offered to you.

Common scenarios ScamSmart is designed to catch

ScamSmart's questionnaire is built around patterns the FCA sees repeatedly in real pension scam cases, so working through it tends to surface the same handful of scenarios again and again. One common pattern is the unsolicited approach: a call, text, or email you didn't request, often claiming to offer a "free pension review" or a "one-off opportunity" tied to changes in pension rules. Remember that cold calling about pensions has been illegal in the UK since January 2019, so an approach of this kind is worth treating with suspicion before anything else about it is even assessed. Another common pattern involves guaranteed or unusually high returns — a promise of, say, 8% or 10% a year "guaranteed," when genuine investment returns of any kind always carry some risk and can never be truly guaranteed at that level. A third pattern is time pressure: being told an offer is only available "today" or that a limited number of places remain, designed to stop you pausing long enough to check anything at all. A fourth is a push towards unusual or complex structures — overseas property, storage units, forestry, or other niche investments that are hard to value and harder still to exit if something goes wrong. ScamSmart's questions are deliberately built to surface exactly these patterns, one at a time, so that even if you can't immediately name what feels wrong about an approach, working through the tool usually makes it explicit.

What happens after you use ScamSmart

Once you've worked through the questionnaire and checked the warning list, what you do next depends on what you found. If the tool's guidance and your own instincts both suggest something is off, the safest response is simply to stop engaging with that firm or individual altogether — you don't owe anyone an explanation for ending a conversation or declining an offer, however persistent they've been. If a name did appear on the warning list, or you strongly suspect you've been targeted by a scam, it's worth reporting it: the FCA's consumer helpline can take reports about unauthorised firms and suspicious approaches, and Action Fraud is the right channel if you believe a scam has actually taken place or money has changed hands. Reporting doesn't just help you — it feeds into the same warning list and register data that protects the next person who gets the same call. If, on the other hand, ScamSmart and the register both come back clean, that's a reasonably strong starting signal, but it's still worth working through the practical questions to ask before transferring your pension and taking your time before committing anything. A clean check is reassuring, not a reason to skip every other sensible precaution, particularly for a decision as significant and as hard to reverse as a pension transfer.

Building ScamSmart into a wider habit

Used in isolation, any single check can be talked around by a sufficiently convincing scammer — that's precisely why layering several independent checks together is so much more effective than relying on just one. ScamSmart's questionnaire is particularly good at the very first stage, when you're not yet sure whether something feels wrong but suspect it might; working through its short set of questions often puts a name to a vague unease, whether that's unusual urgency, an unrealistic guaranteed return, or pressure to keep the opportunity confidential from family or a financial adviser. From there, the natural next steps are the ones covered elsewhere in this section: a full register search to confirm authorisation, and a set of direct questions to ask before agreeing to anything. None of these checks takes very long individually, and together they form a routine that's genuinely difficult for a scammer to talk their way around, however polished the approach.

In short, treat ScamSmart as your starting point for gut-check reassurance and known-scam screening, not as the final word. Combine it with the main FCA register, stay alert to the broader pattern of pension transfer red flags, and give yourself permission to pause, ask questions, or simply walk away whenever something doesn't add up — that combination of tools and habits is what actually keeps pension savers safe, far more than any single checklist item on its own.

Using ScamSmart on someone else's behalf

It's common to end up using ScamSmart not for yourself but for a parent, older relative, or friend who has mentioned an unusual call or an investment opportunity that doesn't quite sit right with you. The tool works just as well used this way, and it's often easier to look at a situation objectively when you're not the one who's been personally persuaded by a confident salesperson. If you're checking on someone else's behalf, it helps to gather the same basic facts you'd want for yourself — the exact firm or individual name, how they were first contacted, what's being promised, and any documents or emails that have been sent — before working through the questionnaire and the warning list search. Approaching the conversation gently matters too: people who've been targeted by a scam, or who are seriously considering a bad decision, can feel embarrassed or defensive if a check feels like it's questioning their judgement rather than simply being sensible due diligence that anyone would do. Framing it as "let's just check this together, it only takes a few minutes" tends to land far better than "I think you're being scammed," even when that's exactly the concern. Whatever the outcome of the check, it's worth encouraging the person to also speak to MoneyHelper's free Pension Wise service directly, since impartial guidance from a named, trusted source often carries more weight than advice from a family member alone, however well-intentioned.

A final word on relying on any single tool

No single website, questionnaire, or database can substitute entirely for good judgement, and ScamSmart was never designed to be the only check anyone ever does. Its real value is speed and accessibility — it turns a vague, uneasy feeling about a pension approach into a specific, actionable next step within a few minutes, at no cost, without needing any financial expertise. Used properly, alongside the FCA register and a healthy habit of asking direct questions before agreeing to anything, it closes off the great majority of the routes pension scammers rely on. Used in isolation, or treated as a final green light rather than one part of a wider routine, it's considerably less effective. Build all three checks into how you approach any pension decision involving an adviser, a transfer, or an unfamiliar investment, and you give yourself a genuinely strong, layered defence against the kind of approach that catches people out.