A retirement study has estimated that over one million people aged over 45 have fallen victim to online scams.

Over-75s were found to be the most at risk of being targeted by fraudsters, with 76% approached by email.

The Aviva Retirement Report found this exceeded the 69% who have been targeted by phone scams.

Almost one in four (24%) over-75s said technology makes them feel vulnerable, while 43% said it is not designed with their age group in mind.

With the Government currently consulting on a cold calling ban to “cut off a key source of pension scams”, the findings highlight the importance of also tackling digital security, the authors of the report said.

Aviva’s findings suggested almost three in four (73%) over-45s with internet access have been targeted by an email scam, which would be equivalent to 20.61m people in the UK, if the figures proved to be representative more broadly.

Of these, 6% reported falling victim to an online approach.

In comparison, 60% of over-45s – equivalent to almost 17m in total – have been targeted by fraudsters via phone calls, with 7% of those (1.19m) saying they were a victim of phone scammers.

Over-75s were shown to be most likely to have fallen into the trap of an email scam, with 8% of those targeted saying they were a victim, compared to 6% of over-45s.

Rodney Prezeau, managing director, consumer platform, at Aviva UK Life, said: “The government is rightly taking action to combat the threat of pension cold-callers in later life, but it is important we don’t forget the additional threats that exist in the digital age.

“The fact that digital advances have had a welcome impact in so many areas of life has left many baby boomers feeling their retirement plans and savings habits would have benefitted from today’s technology.

“As we move pensions out of the Stone Age and make increasing use of online tools, it is vital we ensure that consumers are fully safeguarded and supported so more people are encouraged to engage with their savings.”