Cold calls to the elderly about pensions 'should be banned to protect against fraudsters'

Cold calls made to elderly people about their pensions should be banned, the head of a government-backed helpline has said.

Michelle Cracknell, the head of the Pensions Advisory Service, said a ban would help protect vulnerable people against sophisticated fraudsters.

She said the chances of pensioners getting their money back after being scammed are “next to zero”.

Campaigners warned recently that cold callers are preying on the elderly because of a lack of government action.

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More than 10 million pensioners are targeted each year by cold callers, it has been estimated.

Criminals are persuading people to part with their life-savings for bogus investments, Mrs Cracknell told The Telegraph.

They then channel the money through a number of overseas companies, making it extremely difficult to identify the scammers.

She said scams often begin with a cold call offering a “free pensions review”, before victims are tricked into investing into hotels and wine companies that don’t even exist.

“If a ban was put into place it would be a further protection to customers,” Mrs Cracknell told The Telegraph.

“Not everybody is aware. Most people tend to have a positive outlook that it’s OK [when someone cold calls].

“Our advice is that you should be suspicious.

“The good financial advice companies don’t need to cold call. Government services don’t cold call.

“We all now how many calls we have received on PPI and you’ve had a car accident. That is coming to an end and pensions is incredibly vulnerable.

“We would like every customer to refuse to take cold calls on their pension funds.”

“They target vulnerable people. A number of people are quite scared of saying no to people, particularly if they are sophisticated sales people.”

(Picture: Getty)