From the blog: Frank Field’s call for action on cold-calling has reminded us of the fact that despite industry and government agreeing that savers need to be protected from scammers, precisely nothing has happened.
We might be tempted to look to the banking sector, where various rules apply depending on how cash was taken from someone’s account – via debit card, credit card or through identity theft.
However, if a transaction to scammers was authorised by an unsuspecting account holder, there too, little can be done to get the money back.
We might be tempted to look to the banking sector, where various rules apply depending on how cash was fraudulently taken from someone’s account – via debit card, credit card or through identity theft. However, if a transaction to scammers was authorised by an unsuspecting account holder, there too, little can be done to get the money back.
The amounts held in pensions are vastly more significant than what is in your average current account, yet overall, the latter is better protected from fraudsters
When it comes to our awareness of fraud, perhaps the main difference between banks and pension schemes is that we have internalised the constant messages of ‘We will never ask you for your pin’ that appear on your screen before you can see the account summary. We are suspicious because years of campaigning by banks have made us so.
Now think about the pensions industry. Schemes do now warn savers about fraud, and in time it will have the desired effect – but we are not there yet.
It is unacceptable that people can be conned out of a lifetime’s savings so easily. The amounts held in pensions are vastly more significant than what is in your average current account, yet overall, the latter is better protected from fraudsters. No wonder conmen are turning to pensions.
But there is also a question of personal responsibility, or even negligence. Why would you transfer thousands to an investment in Cape Verde? Is it reasonable to expect people to do a certain amount of due diligence before they make significant transactions to people and companies they don’t know? Yes, it is. Still, it might not be enough.
The story of home secretary Amber Rudd's late father, who she said was defrauded by scammers posing as his bank manager, shows to what lengths criminals will go.
Rudd said: "There is a myth that there are no real victims of economic crime, but I have seen first-hand how it can ruin people’s lives."
The national economic crime centre she announced this week is a welcome initiative – let's hope pension scams will fall into its remit.
But we also still need measures that will make it much more difficult for fraudsters to contact people in the process of making decisions about thousands of pounds at retirement. A cold-calling ban would be a good start.
