On the go: One in five victims of a financial scam during the coronavirus pandemic were targeted by pension fraudsters amid warnings of “low-life” scammers preying on the vulnerable.
Figures released by financial services company Canada Life on Tuesday found that 5.2m people in the UK had fallen victim to, or knew someone who had been duped by, a financial scam since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The research found the most common financial scams were related to banking, accounting for 60 per cent of victims, followed by 35 per cent of victims reporting being targeted by an insurance scam.
One in five of these victims had been targeted by a pension scam amid an increase in fraudsters purporting to offer free pension reviews.
The survey of 2,000 adults at the beginning of May also flagged a trend of consumers feeling increasingly vulnerable to pension fraud, with 43 per cent reporting they were now more worried about scams.
Canada Life warned that British adults had received an average of three suspicious or fraudulent messages since the outbreak, including emails, phone calls and text messages.
Andrew Tully, technical director at Canada Life, said: “Falling prey to a scam can be devastating, not only for the individual involved, but also for their family and friends.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has provided a fertile opportunity for ‘low-lifes’ to prey on not only the vulnerable, but also people who are worried and anxious about both their health and their wealth.”
This article originally appeared on ftadviser.com
