PENSIONS ALERT
£30million stolen by scammers
PENSION scams have surged during the lockdown with many victims losing their entire life savings to heartless fraudsters.
More than £30million has been reported lost to the con artists since 2017, although the real figure is likely to be far higher.
Scammers target both small and large pension pots. Some lost as little as £1,000 but one man in his 50s was tricked out of an incredible £500,000 by the crooks, the Action Fraud data found.
One victim a 57-year-old woman called Viv, reported losing almost £200,000 after being persuaded to withdraw the money from two of her pension schemes.
Tom Selby, senior analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, said fraudsters often use high-pressure sales tactics to dupe or coerce people into transferring their pensions into get-richquick investment schemes.
He believes Action Fraud’s figure is “just the tip of the iceberg”.
He added: “Scams are underreported for a variety of reasons, including embarrassment.
Fake
“They pray on vulnerability, which will inevitably rise during times of economic stress such as now.”
People who make unsolicited cold calls about people’s pensions can be fined up to £500,000 but the legislation is largely ignored.
Last month’s Aviva Fraud Report found almost 12 million people received emails, texts or phone calls using coronavirus in a suspected financial scam.
Scammers even set up fake company websites with similar sounding names, with Aviva alone reporting 27 fake domains using its brand. Its crime-risk director Peter Hazlewood said: “It’s inevitable the fraudsters’ tactics will again develop beyond coronavirus. It’s more important than ever that people remain vigilant.”
Pensions Regulator chief executive Charles Counsell saidd: “Scammers wreck lives and no matter how big or small your savings are, every pot is a target.”