Protecting Your Retirement from Scams

Protecting Your Retirement from Scams

September 14, 2022 9:37 am Published by

Scams come in many shapes and sizes and retirement scams are becoming increasingly common. With most people heading into retirement of an older age, many scammers find them an easy target and most of the time people won’t even know they are being scammed until it’s too late. Most scammers operate elaborate schemes and they’ll have everything from articulate phone manners to professional websites and much more, so it can be easy for anyone to fall into the retirement scam trap.

How Retirement Scams Work

You might be wondering how scammers operate in the retirement sector and it’s way really, they create deals that are too good to be true and get you to invest your retirement pot into them. Most scammers will offer things such as high risk investments, energy bonds or oversea property deals as these can seem every lucrative. But your money isn’t going towards those, once they have your details and access to your money, they’ll take what they think they can from you and in short you won’t see that money again. The aim of retirement scammers is to simply steal your money outright but by using what seems like a legitimate front to do so.

Protecting Your Retirement from Scams

How To Spot Retirement Scammers

Spotting retirement scammers can be difficult as most will call you out of the blue. Using a financial advisor can help you avoid retirement scams as you can have everything checked over by them before you make an investment and once you mention financial advisor most scammers will run for the hills. However, if you don’t currently use an independent financial advisor then some of the signs of retirement scammers are:

  • They contact you out of the blue
  • You’ll be offered free pension or retirement reviews
  • Pressure tactics to push for quick decisions
  • Scammers typically offer high returns or even guaranteed returns
  • Accessing your pension before your 55
  • Offer deals that are too good to be true
  • They’ll downplay the risk on your money

These are just a few of the signs to look out for with retirement scammers. It’s always best to do your due diligence before handing any money over to anyone and if you’re still unsure then you should contact an independent financial advisor for a second opinion.

Protect Yourself From Retirement Scams

When it comes to retirement scams there are a number of things you can do to help ensure you and your money are protected. Some of our top tips for avoiding retirement scammers are:

  • Never say yes straight away, and reject any offers from unexpected parties
  • Always check who you are dealing with, use the FCA to check if the company is legitimate
  • Don’t be rushed or pressured into doing anything, it’s your money at the end of the day and you always need time to consider your options
  • Seek impartial advice from leading industry bodies or financial advisors such as ourselves

Helping To Protect Your Retirement

If you’re worried about your retirement funds, think you might be at risk of being scammed or have recently been offered a too good to be true deal, then we can help. At The Lost Coin Financial Planning, we can provide expert advice and guidance on both investments and retirement funds. Contact us today for more information.

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This post was written by duodigitaluk@gmail.com