“It’s tempting to dismiss scams as something that only happen to other people. In reality though the one thing scammers don’t do is discriminate. They don’t care if you’re young or old, if you have lots of money or have had to make sacrifices to save what you have, they’re only interested in one thing, getting their hands on your hard-earned savings, if you let them.
“Fraudsters are increasingly sophisticated and will re-invent their approach, but while it may appear that they to want to help you, their only motivation is helping themselves to your pension savings. And being caught out and losing your pension is devastating.
“There’s often warning signs that should set the alarm bells ringing, but if you rush into things or are too self-assured you may miss them.
“For example, if you’re contacted out of the blue and offered a free pension review, the chances are it’s a scam. The offer of a free pension review, can sound harmless but it’s a method commonly used by scammers to trick people into giving personal and financial information. The mention of those three little words, should immediately set off an internal warning.”
Aegon’s tips to avoid scammers
1. Try not to engage in conversation with Cold Callers. The safest thing to do is to hang up. Pension cold-calling is illegal
2. Think about installing call blocker technology on your phone.
3. Never give out personal information, including your bank details.
4. Always check the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) online register to check a company is genuine
5. Check the FCA ScamSmart warning list for known investment scams.
6. Use the Pension Advisory Online tool to Identify a pension scam if you are worried about information given or action you’ve taken
7. Never feel pressurised into making a quick decision, and read any documents carefully before you sign on the dotted line.
8. Always do the research. As always, if in doubt, use a regulated adviser. You can find one of these using the ‘unbiased adviser’ website.
9. Report any concerns to your pension provider, adviser, or Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or online at actionfraud.police.uk
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