The recent announcement by culture secretary Nadine Dorries that paid for advertising is to be included in the online safety bill is a victory for consumers everywhere, particularly pension savers.
When you consider that a pension can be the most valuable asset that many people own, it is more than slightly puzzling that retirement savings had not been afforded greater protections from criminals until now.
Research we conducted with the Police Foundation in the autumn of 2020 showed much more needs to be done to protect the £2.5tn in pension assets that are potentially vulnerable to ruthless criminals. Pensions fraud is arguably the cruellest of all financial crimes due to the significant sums sometimes involved and the fact that typical victims – towards the end of their career – have very little chance of making up their loss before they retire.
Pensions fraud takes different forms, but it is in the largely unregulated world of the internet where the risk is especially great. You do not have to wait long online to find an advertisement that promises to make you money.
Invariably, such claims are in the ‘too good to be true’ category, but that does not stop large numbers falling victim to this appalling crime. Our research shows that an estimated 240,600 people have been subjected to pensions fraud, meaning the total amount stolen in the UK could be as high as £14.6bn.
Pensions fraud is a very difficult crime to measure, partly because many of those affected do not realise they have fallen victim to a scam sometimes until years later. We know that fraudsters operate on trust, and they very often build up a rapport with their victims before committing their crime. Online advertising has provided criminals with a veneer of authenticity, but this very important move by the government means such activities will now be on the wrong side of the law.
The recent announcement will make it much more difficult for criminals to masquerade as legitimate businesses online, and will go a long way to protect all online consumers, including pension savers. We are proud to have been the only pension provider joined forces with Which?, Stephen Timms MP, who is chair of the work and pensions select committee, the chair of the online safety bill scrutiny committee and cross party MPs among others, to have called on government to include paid-for advertising in the online safety bill.
We are also very grateful that the secretary of state for digital, culture, media, and sport has listened to the many voices of the #JustNotBuyingIt campaign, which saw a Digivan drive around the streets of central London with the message ‘Dear Nadine, please protect us online.’
It appears that policymakers have understood the compelling argument for why the inclusion of online advertising in the online safety bill is vital to protect pension savers, and their hard-earned cash, across the UK. But it is vital that the regulator and relevant agencies are given the appropriate backing and resources to enforce this and show scammers that the law is on the side of the hard-working saver and consumer.
