The Finacial Conduct Authority (FCA) received 16,400 scam enquiries between April and September 2021, up a third on the same period in 2020.
In total over 1,836 consumer alerts were published.
But the regulator said there are signs people are more aware of the potential for scams and know what action to take.
The FCA pension scam campaign led to 29,000 visits to the ScamSmart website, and 1,295 people checked a pension offer with the Warning List.
But the FCA warned that scammers are well known for shifting tactics so people must remain vigilant.
Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Scammers invade every area of our lives in their bid to get their hands on our hard-earned cash. It takes strong action to combat them as they target our pensions, investments and cash in every way possible – online, telephone and by letter.
“The FCA said it received 16,400 scam enquiries, up a third on the same period in 2020 and it has published over 1,800 consumer alerts on unauthorised firms and individuals.
“This could be a sign of scam activity growing and evolving – fraudsters are shapeshifters and are well known for changing their tactics to take advantage of current conditions.
“However, it could also be a positive sign that consumers are now much better informed about the risk of being scammed, understand the hallmarks of a fraudster and how to take appropriate action.
“Unfortunately, there’s no room for complacency and fraudsters are always looking for new opportunities – the cost-of-living crisis will no doubt see a surge of new activity as they continue their bid to get their hands on people’s money.
“So, for example, we know there are already scams designed to take advantage of cost-of-living payments and confuse people into handing over their account details.”
