BBC soap Eastenders has featured a pension scam storyline with a long-running character, 61-year-old Jean Slater, who is scammed into transferring her pension into a “high return investment” after receiving what she thought was a genuine free phone pension review.
The Pensions Regulator (TPR), Stop_Scams_UK, and adviser Nick Stapleton worked with EastEnders to highlight scammers’ tactics and the emotional and financial costs on victims.
This storyline highlights the real-world risks to pension security. TPR recently launched a video campaign featuring Pauline Padden, a 60-year-old nurse and one of 245 victims in a £13.5 million prosecution.
TPR executive director of regulatory compliance Gaucho Rasmussen says: “We commend the BBC for tackling such an important and complex issue in this storyline. By bringing Jean’s experience to prime-time television, millions of viewers will become more aware of pension scams, potentially empowering them to recognise and resist similar approaches from fraudsters.
“Sadly, our work continues to uncover the real-life damage caused by pension scams. But while the threat of scams and fraud is ever-evolving, so is our response.
“To provide the valuable intelligence we and our Pension Scams Action Group (PSAG) partners need in the fight against fraudsters, we urge the pensions industry to report scams and suspicions of scams to Action Fraud. It is our hope that viewers of the EastEnders’ storyline will be prompted to report any suspicious activity to Action Fraud too. Every report counts, helping to enhance our national intelligence picture.”