Devastated pension fraud victim tells her story of being scammed out of £45,000
Pauline Padden, a critical care nurse from Merseyside, was one of 245 victims defrauded in a £13.5 million scam that saw fraudsters Alan Barratt and Susan Dalton put behind bars for their criminal actions in April 2022.
“What have I done. I'd willingly handed over these pensions”
Pauline Padden
Pauline, 60 received a text asking her if she had any inactive pensions she would like to reinvest to get a better return and receive a 10% cashback on the worth of her pensions as a gift.
Due to circumstances at home, she saw this as an opportunity to spend more time with her ailing mother.
Pauline spoke to a man and didn't see any red flags at that time as they weren't asking for upfront fees. She also received a professional looking pack from the people she was investing with about how it was going to be a very good return for her. Why wouldn’t she believe what was being offered.
Watch her story - Pauline warns pension savers to be scam aware - YouTube
Scammers’ tactics are constantly evolving. In 2023 alone, £17 million was lost to pension fraud and scam-related complaints are reported by the Financial Ombudsman Service to be at their highest level since 2018.
The video was launched by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) in association with the Pension Scams Action Group (PSAG) and the case report, which gives the full story behind the investigation, can be found here.
Shropshire County Pension Fund has signed up to meet the standards of The Pensions Regulator’s pledge to combat pension scams. We have self-certified as meeting the requirements of the Pensions Regulator which is an industry standard pledge asking trustees, providers and administrators of pension schemes to do what they can to protect scheme members.
If you think you have fallen victim to a pension scam, you can report it by contacting Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via their website.
You can also check a provider’s details by visiting the Financial Conduct Authority’s website.