As the joint FCA/TPR ScamSmart campaign kicked off yesterday the regulator posted a tweet of a would-be scammer living the high-life on a jet-ski. 

The high-profile campaign, which will also include TV spots, saw a tweet yesterday from the FCA with the picture of a man speeding through the surf in clear blue waters, with the caption: “Don’t let a scammer enjoy your retirement.”

There was also a link to the new ScamSmart webpage, which provides anti-scam advice. 

The site says: “Scammers usually contact people out of the blue via phone, email or text, or even advertise online. Or they may be introduced to you by a friend or family member who is also unknowingly being scammed.

“Scammers will make false claims to gain your trust. For example:

• claiming they are authorised by the FCA or that they don’t have to be FCA authorised because they aren’t providing the advice themselves
• claiming to be acting on the behalf of the FCA or the government service Pension Wise 

“Scammers design attractive offers to persuade you to transfer your pension pot to them (or to release funds from it). 

It is then often invested in unusual and high-risk investments like overseas property, renewable energy bonds, forestry, 

storage units, or simply stolen outright.”

It goes on to point out that fraudsters may offer a number of things, including:

• free pension reviews
• higher returns – guarantees they can get you better returns on your pension savings
• help to release cash from your pension even though you’re under 55 (an offer to release funds before age 55 is highly likely to be a scam)
• high-pressure sales tactics – the scammers may try to pressure you with ‘time-limited offers’ or even send a courier to your door to wait while you sign documents
• unusual investments – which tend to be unregulated and high risk, and may be difficult to sell if you need access to your money
• complicated structures where it isn’t clear where your money will end up
• long-term pension investments – which mean it could be several years before you realise something is wrong