Pension Pot Scams

As people now have the option to release their retirement savings this has led to an increase in pension related scams. Scammers are now contacting people directly to promise high return and low risk investment schemes. The reality is that these are scams and sadly people are left with nothing, once the money is lost it is extremely hard to recover.

Scammers will use many tricks to take your money so you need to be on your guard if you receive an unsolicited phone call about pensions or retirement savings. The first thing to remember is that it is illegal to make a cold call in relation to pensions so if you receive one then it will be a scam. The Pensions Regulator has produced some advice and things to look out for to avoid falling victim to pensions scams.

Avoid pension scams | The Pensions Regulator

    Medical Alert Systems Scams

Calls are being made to inform residents that they maybe entitled to a free medical alert button. The caller will often know your name and say that the offer is for vulnerable adults who may be at risk from falls. The caller will then offer a “free device” but say you need to provide your bank details to receive it. This will then often lead to them signing you up to a monthly payment schedule without asking or they may simply steal your personal data.

Be very wary when you receive an unsolicited call of this nature, we would also recommend that you never give out personal details over the phone.

Loft Insulation Scams

Unsolicited calls are being made offering residents services relating to loft insulation. The caller may tell you that they are concerned that your loft insulation is unsafe or is being phased out by the government. The caller will then offer to send out a representative to carry out a free inspection. Be very wary of such offers as the usual purpose of the free inspection is to then sell you other services such as damp proofing or loft insulation spraying. Often these services are vastly over priced and unnecessary. Be very wary of such calls and remember if something is to good to be true it probably is.

If you are considering renewing or having loft insulation we would recommend that you start with the reading the advice from the Energy Savings Trust.

Roof and loft insulation guide - Energy Saving Trust

Council Tax Scams

Scammers regularly target people by phone, letter or email regarding council tax payments, reductions and refunds. We would always recommend that you do not give out any personal information or bank details to a cold caller even if they appear to know some of your details already. Never click on any buttons or links in unsolicited emails or texts even if they look official.

If you receive any correspondence regarding you council tax and you are concerned we would always recommend you contact the council directly.

Energy Company Scams

There has been an increase in unsolicited text messages being sent by scammers to take advantage of the uncertainty in the energy market. There have been reports of consumers receiving texts messages telling them their energy supply has been switched to another provider and they should set up a new direct debit, if you received a text like this we would always recommend that you contact you existing supplier to query it.