Scammers Targeting All Types Of Small And Big Pension Pots

As per the complaints made to the Action fraud, the FCA and the Pension Regulators claim £30+ million was lost to scammers in the four years between 2017 to 2020. The average victim age was 50 years, but the scammers targeted all types of small and big pension pots, resulting in losses ranging from below £1K to £500K.

It is expected the number of victims who lost is much higher as many fail to spot and report the offence. The latest research found similar trends in those in the age of retirement who were football fans. 

They were unaware of the amount they had in their pension pots, as only 43 per cent knew about their earnings in these accounts, and 45 per cent did not know the legitimate ways to address the firm that operates the account. 

The tricksters are trained in multiple domains to convince the target purchaser to transfer funds to their account, and often, they offer a kind of limited-time deal with strict deadlines to buy into the scheme. They are great at subduing the victim's resistance. 

They can place a lot of pressure on the customer where they may say - they expect the customer to avoid a delay in the transaction to get unachievable gains. But one should always be careful and do a complete investigation on the client and the firm before investing any money. 

Before investing, one should always remember to take time out to seek advice from reputed people and organisations, and it is always recommended to speak to an FCA authorised adviser. One should not agree to any suspicious deal.

Firstly if you have invested in a pension plan, you should always get all the knowledge about the money in your pension pot, and one should not be overconfident and believe in what the adverts are telling. The study on football fans found about 65 per cent of the participants claimed they were overconfident they could spot a scam. 

At least 4 out of 10 agreed to put their money at risk on unsure deals where the scamteam members told them the offer was made for a limited duration, and they will get guaranteed high returns on their savings in future. 

Experts advise the pension holders to be cautious during the coronavirus pandemic to protect their life savings from scammers seeking opportunities to earn by exploiting unaware investors. You should always check the FCA register and get advice from FCA authorised firm before making any changes to the pension plan. 

The data on such frauds finds scammers are seeking opportunities in all types of pension pots, large or small. Therefore, it may appear lucrative when you plan to change the previous pension scheme, but one should not rush to any decision, instead take time and visit the Scamsmart website to check the details of the deal. 

How To Protect Yourself From Such Scams?

• One should never take any pension scheme modification decision in haste. All plans offered by scammers appear too lucrative and have strict deadlines, but most relatable offers in markets are often repeatedly launched.

• One should not accept any form of unexpected change in pension plans online or over the phone. 

• Always try to gain more and more information about the firm you want to invest with. Seek advice from experts and see the FSR or call the FCA helpline to know more.

• Always try to gain impartial information from a reputed financial advisor.