The FCA and The Pensions Regulator will tomorrow (4th December) provide an update on their joint ScamSmart campaign, an initiative designed to increase awareness around retirement fraud.
Key points:
• Number of visits to the official ScamSmart website has risen dramatically, from 31,000 in the 55 days before the campaign launched to 173,000 in the 55 days after
• Over 370 pension holders warned about suspicious unauthorised schemes through the FCA’s official ’Warning List’
• New research suggests more than half (52%) of 45 to 65 year olds with a pension do not believe they will be targeted by scammers
• Millions of adults targeted each year by scammers, with the average scam victim losing £91,000
Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell, comments:
“The FCA and The Pensions Regulator deserve credit for finally taking the bull by the horns on pension fraud. By launching a dedicated campaign warning about the dangers of scams – including a highly effective television advert – the regulators have already helped boost awareness among consumers.
“Ultimately improving engagement and understanding of scams is the most effective way to tackle the problem in the long-term. The research published today tells us more work still needs to be done on this front, with many people aged 45 to 65 years old still seemingly oblivious to the fact they are prime targets for pension scammers.
“Alongside the forthcoming ban on pensions cold-calling, an ongoing commitment to communicating the dangers of scams to the public should help ensure more savers are confident enough to reject the overtures of the snake-oil salesmen flogging these dodgy schemes.
“By doing this we should build financial resilience in the UK, equipping people with the essential tools and information they need to protect themselves.”
