Don’t let cold-call scammers target your life savings

MANY READERS of

will be familiar with nuisance calls and have experienced the irritation of having sat down to dinner or a fresh cup of tea and being interrupted by someone trying to sell us something – normally something we don’t need!

But sometimes these calls can be more sinister. Offers of simple schemes which promise to boost your retirement savings and ‘double your pension’ overnight can seem like a great opportunity when you approach pension age. But as tantalising as these offers might sound, they are often too good to be true.

You may be familiar with these types of scams, which often start with someone contacting you out of the blue by phone, email or text message. They might offer a ‘free assessment of your current pension funds’, or free financial advice, for example. They might invite you to ‘use your private pension savings more wisely’ by transferring them into investment schemes – such as in properties overseas, storage companies, fine wines or Wensleydale Cheese – offering low risks and high returns.

But the harsh reality is that many are looking to target and steal your life savings.

Traditionally, pension scams were aimed at people over minimum pension age, with scammers offering ways individuals could move their pension savings elsewhere.

But that’s changed. While the introduction of Pension Freedoms give people aged 55 and over more choice over how they use their hard-earned pension savings, scammers have taken advantage by encouraging people to transfer their savings into inaccessible or fraudulent investments.

The Government has been working hard in recent years to tackle pension scams. We launched ‘Project Bloom’, a dedicated taskforce, to gather and share intelligence on emerging threats, help coordinate action and raise public awareness. This work continues in conjunction with the National Crime Agency, police forces, Pension Wise and regulators.

In 2015 we increased the maximum fines that the Information Commissioner’s Office can issue on company directors responsible for nuisance marketing. In April, we announced the provision of call-blocking devices for society’s most vulnerable, so they can feel safer when answering the phone.

But new figures show that pension scams are on the rise and the number of cold calls has soared. It is now estimated that on average eight people in the UK are targeted by cold callers every second – the equivalent of 250 million calls per year.

With private pension savings typically the biggest savings pot that people have, new figures estimate that £43m has been unlawfully obtained by scammers since April 2014, with those targeted having lost an average of nearly £15,000.

With nearly a million over65s living in Yorkshire, it means that nearly one in five people in the region could be targeted as scammers continue to develop increasingly devious schemes.

That’s why our latest announcement, to bring in a pensions cold-calling ban and introduce new steps to protect private pension savers from the threat of these unscrupulous scammers, is so important.

We are taking action to introduce a ban on pensions cold calling, including emails and text messages; tightening rules to ensure only active companies, which produce regular, upto-date accounts, can register pension schemes and preventing the transfer of money from an occupational pension scheme into a fraudulent one.

By taking these steps, no legitimate firm without an existing customer relationship can cold call you about your private pension. It will cut off scammers at the source, with fines of up to £500,000 imposed on companies who breach it. We’re committed to getting tough on scammers.

However, as individuals, we must all remain wary of any form of dubious advice. That’s why I urge you to protect yourself and be scam-aware.

Hang up on cold callers – no legitimate firm will cold call you. Research, research, research – if an offer promises ‘guaranteed’ returns, tries to force you into making a quick decision or seems too good to be true, it probably is. Double-check on the FCA’s Scamsmart website www. fca.org.uk/scamsmart to see if your offer is a known scam. Make sure they’re not registered on the FCA’s warning list too.

If in doubt, call the Pensions Advisory Service on 0300 123 1047 or visit their website at www.pensionsadvisoryservice. org.uk for free pensions guidance. If you think you’ve been scammed, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

If an offer sounds too good to be true, it usually is. So question it, hang up, research, report and together we’ll stop these scammers and their unscrupulous work.

For more tips to protect your retirement savings, visit www. pension-scams.com.