Alder Hey nurse loses her life savings due to SMS scam

One nurse spoke about the devastating impact of losing her entire retirement savings to fraudsters.

Pauline Padden, a pediatric intensive care nurse at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, was duped into giving more than £45,000 to pension fraudsters in 2013.

The 60-year-old was one of 245 victims who were defrauded out of a total of more than £13.5 million in pension savings.

“I’ll never get this back,” Ms. Padden said. “I could never scrape together £45,000. I won’t be alive long enough to do that.”

He warned: “This is a very real crime. There are victims and we are paying the price.”

Ms Padden was caring for her terminally ill mother in the final weeks of her life when she was suddenly contacted.

He said in the text message he was asked if he had “unused pension or frozen pension” that could be invested in a better investment and was told he could receive a gift in return.

But Ms Padden never received any gifts and was later informed that the companies she invested in were part of a sophisticated fraud.

Latest figures show more than £17 million is lost to pension fraud in 2023, with the Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Pensions Fraud Action Group (PSAG) taking action to prevent more people from falling victim.

Ms Padden said others should “stop and think” before making any decisions about their pensions, adding: “Give it time, don’t rush it.

“Take a step back and look at the big picture and ask, ‘Is this real, or is it too good to be true?’ say.”

A new case report by TPRtells the full story behind the investigation for the first time. Sentencing of fraudsters Alan Barratt and Susan Dalton in April 2022.

The report traces how a single whistleblower report led to the couple being sentenced to five years, seven months and four years and eight months in prison respectively.

According to Action Fraud, there were 559 reports of pension fraud in total, with losses of £17,750,635 in 2023, for an average loss of £46,959 per person.

There was a loss of £150,524 in Merseyside, £726,170 in Greater Manchester and £501,454 in Lancashire.

Gaucho Rasmussen, TPR’s chief compliance officer, said: “Pauline’s story clearly shows how fraudsters will ruthlessly exploit victims’ vulnerability to make ill-gotten gains.

“We urge retirement savers to protect themselves by knowing the warning signs and how to avoid and report a scam or fraud. The message is clear: stop, think and check who you are dealing with.”

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) made the following recommendations:

• Stop and think: reject unexpected offers and avoid hasty decisions.
• If you receive an unexpected call, text or email regarding your retirement, it is safest to ignore it.
• Always check who you are dealing with in the Financial Conduct Authority’s authorized register of firms and advisers.

If you suspect fraud, always Action Scam online or you can reach us by calling 0300 123 2040.