Don't Fall For Pension Scams

It is harsh but probably true to say that where there is a person who has money, there is very likely to be someone out there who wants to part them from it.  When an older person has the sort of money likely to be found in a pension pot then they can find themselves a very tempting target for scammers, all the more so since pensions freedoms were introduced and gave pensioners a wider range of choices about what to do with their hard-earned savings.  That means those with pension pots really need to stay alert to the possibility of scams in order to protect themselves.

Start by cleaning up your digital life Over the years, you’ve probably left quite a trail of digital breadcrumbs all across the internet and it’s a good idea to do a regular clean up, as a minimum once a year.  Think of every online account you have as a window into your life, the fewer windows you have, the fewer windows you have to secure.  In other words, only keep accounts open if you actually use them, if you don’t, actually close them instead of just leaving them hanging around.  Then focus on the security of the accounts you have left, for example by creating strong passwords for them.

Keep all your devices secure All your internet-connected devices need security protection.  This includes your smartphone and tablet, you can and should download anti-virus software for them and setting up a PIN and/or biometric identification on your mobile devices is definitely worth considering.  Just remember, while biometrics may be convenient, you need to touch your bare skin against the reader, whereas PINs can be entered with a special stylus or even “smart gloves”.

Stay on top of physical data security By this point in time, you’re probably familiar with the practicalities of securing your home and car against the theft of physical items and these standard precautions will also help to protect your data.  At this point in time, however, you need to take these precautions a step further and start working to protect anything which relates to your personal data, so, for example, look at your mail and think about whether or not it needs to be shredded before being recycled.  If you buy a shredder, make sure it is one which can cross-cut (i.e. cuts horizontally and vertically) and if you don’t get enough mail to justify keeping a shredder, then scissors are fine as long as you cut the paper cross-ways and into small pieces.

Be wary of unusual and/or unexpected phone calls On the phone we only have a person’s voice to guide us as to whether their intentions are good, bad or indifferent and we can feel, or be placed, under pressure to respond quickly.  Treat unknown callers with caution, even if they claim to be from an organisation you recognise such as your bank (which will have no need for you to confirm extensive personal details before speaking to you, just standard security questions) and do not let yourself be rushed into making hasty decisions.  As a final point, remember that if you hear a lengthy pause between you picking up the phone and a human speaking, it’s a massive pointer to you having been auto-dialled.

Remember the golden rule, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is These days, the corollary to that old saying, is that if it sounds too bad to be true, it probably isn’t.  Some scams play on a desire to make money, but some play on fear of losing it or on fear of something happening to someone you love if you don’t give the fraudster your money. For pension and investments advice we act as introducers only.