Pension scam gang held by cops

Police have swooped on a suspected organised crime gang, believed to be cold-calling and text messaging pension holders across the UK with fraudulent offers that could destroy their retirement plans.
Arrests were made as part of an operation prompted by intelligence from several agencies, including the Information Commissioner’s Office.
There has been a dramatic increase in members of pension schemes being approached to take a portion of their savings as cash before they reach the minimum pension age of 55. Thousands of people are estimated to have released up to £400m into high risk or non-existent investment schemes, many of which are based overseas. Some of this money has been totally lost to fraudsters, with victims also being hit by significant tax and admin fees, according to the authorities.
The ICO has seen reports of spam text messages related to reclaiming pensions more than triple in the past six months, and one in eight spam messages sent in March are thought to relate to pensions. The office has seen a similar spike in cold calls relating to pensions.
The operation on Wednesday morning saw detectives from City of London Police entering offices in the Square Mile, as well as making arrests in Ayr, Glasgow and Cheshire.
It is the first major police investigation into suspected pension liberation fraud. A taskforce has been set-up to address the issue, with the ICO working alongside the Pensions Regulator, City of London Police, Financial Conduct Authority, Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue & Customs, Serious and Organised Crime Agency, Serious Fraud Office and National Fraud Authority.
The ICO received more than 175,000 reports of unwanted marketing texts and calls in the last year.