BBC expert shares pension loss alert to anyone born before 1955

BBC expert shares pension loss alert to anyone born before 1955 BBC finance expert Iona Bain said there are four questions everyone should be asking A BBC expert has issued a warning to anyone with a pension, especially if you were born in or before 1955. Financial expert Iona Bain explained to BBC Morning Live hosts Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones that people aged 70 and over were "particularly vulnerable" to a certain type of pension fraud, called fraud by abuse of position. In fact, according to Report Fraud, "data shows older people are disproportionately affected. Victims aged 70 and over accounted for more than £51 million in reported losses, while those aged 80 to 89 suffered the highest number of reports and the highest financial losses of any age group, losing almost £24 million". The alert comes as Bain spoke of a "really shocking story" following "new figures released by City of London Police, which is a police force that looks into fraud in the UK, and it’s saying that millions of pounds collectively are being stolen from older vulnerable people through something called fraud by abuse of position". What is fraud by abuse of position? This happens when a trusted family member, friend, carer and in some cases, solicitors, use their position of responsibility and authority over somebody else’s finances to steal someone’s money, assets or property, she explained. What makes this "particularly unpleasant", Bain said, is that this fraud is being "committed by someone you know and trust. In some cases, someone you might even love. "They are doing this because you’re not in the position to fully look after your finances - maybe because you’ve lost capacity. You’re really placing your trust in that person to look after your interests and look out for you. Instead, they are using that for their own gain; it’s really hard to swallow knowing that this is going on." 'Older people are particularly vulnerable to this' If you were born in or before 1955, you could be affected more than most. Data from Report Fraud shows that in the last financial year, criminals stole £93.8 million through fraud by abuse of position. However, nearly half of those losses disproportionately affected one group. Bain warned: "Nearly half of those losses have happened to those who are age 70 above. So clearly older people are particularly vulnerable to this." According to Report Fraud, Detective Superintendent Oliver Little, from the Lead Force Operations Room at the City of London Police, said: "These offences can have a devastating impact because they are committed by people who have been trusted to act in the victim's best interests. "The fact that people aged 70 or over had more than £51 million stolen highlights the significant threat this fraud poses to older and sometimes more vulnerable members of our communities. We want families, carers and those responsible for managing another person's affairs to know the warning signs and report concerns, so we can better protect those at risk." Be aware - but do not panic The financial expert said that while it’s sensible to stay alert for red flags, there’s no need to panic as cases like this are the "exception", not the norm. Bain said to BBC viewers: "You should be aware of the problem, but not paranoid and not overly worried." Bain said there were nearly 4,000 reports of fraud by abuse of position in the last financial year, but of those, about 500 of the reports involved a social care worker abusing their position to fraudulently take money. However, there are over 800,000 adults in the UK receiving social care and about one million delivering that social care. With these figures in mind, she said "it just goes to show this is not widespread and it’s not happening across the board. It’s only happening in a very small minority of cases. "It’s true as well if we talk about power-of-attorney", she said. Bain explains that there were 764 reports about misuse of power of attorney in the last financial year and reported losses of around £35 million. While "a huge figure", she said "if we take a step back, we’re looking at 6 to 8,000,000 registered lasting power-of-attorney in place in the UK." Possible under-reporting should be considered, as not all cases may have been reported, Bain said. She reassured: "It’s safe to say the majority of people who have this responsibility do not abuse it." What to do if you are suspicious that someone is abusing your pension If you have suspicions, it doesn’t make you a bad person, the financial guru stressed. But before acting, make sure you have evidence, or can at least "identify a clear pattern of behaviour.” For example, if a stranger contacts you out of the blue and demands you do something with your money, you’d probably question it and be suspicious. But when it’s someone you know and trust, it can be much harder to challenge them or spot that fraud may be happening. That’s why it’s important to remember the classic signs of fraud can still apply in these situations too, Bain said. You should consider the following questions: - Are you being pressured into making decisions? - Are you being rushed into making decisions about your finances? - Are you being pressured to keep those decisions a secret from people you trust in your life? - Are the large purchases or bank transfers happening that you don’t know about until afterwards? "All of these are a cause for concern," Bain said. Host Gethin Jones said at the end of the segment that people should not be offended. Concluding her advice, Bain agreed, adding: "If they've got nothing to hide, they should be willing to share everything."