Paula Padden, 60, said she received the message when her mum was in hospital and she was wondering how to pay her mortgage
An Alder Hey nurse has spoken out after she lost her entire retirement savings to fraudsters who texted her when she was at a vulnerable point in her life. Children’s critical care nurse Pauline Padden received a message out of the blue when she was visiting her ill mum in hospital and was wondering how she would be able to pay her mortgage.
Speaking as part of a new The Pensions Regulator (TPR) video to highlight the devastating impacts scams can have, Ms Padden, 60, said: “I received a text asking if I have any inactive pensions and if I would like to reinvest them to get a better return, and for doing this, I would receive a gift. I had been in hospital that day visiting my mum and I knew that my mum was near the end, we only had a couple of weeks really and I thought if I wanted to take this time off with my mum how was I going to pay the mortgage?
“So I thought if I can move them I can kill two birds with one stone, get them to a better place and get a better return for myself and also receive these gifts which will keep me while I’m just being with my mum. It was like heaven sent because I was in a predicament and this was going to help me out.”
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Ms Padden, who works nights at the world-renowned children’s hospital, said she initially spoke with a “totally believable” man on the phone and received a package describing how she could make a return on her investment. She said she was offered 10% of whatever her pension was worth as value back to her as a gift.
She said she initially sent across £25,000 and received £2,500 back. But little did she know the cash gift had been stolen from her own pension. She said she felt like it was a good thing, but 18 months later she received a letter from TPR listing pension schemes asking if she had invested in any of them. The letter said it felt like they were a scam and they were investing.
It emerged the fraudsters had stolen her entre £45,000 savings. She said: “I was devastated. I’m never going to get that back again. I’d never get £45,000 together. I’m not going to be alive long enough to do that. It is a very real crime. There are victims and we do pay the price.”
TPR later prosecuted Alan Barratt and Susan Dalton for their part in defrauding Ms Padden and others of their pension savings. It emerged the mum was one of 245 victims scammed out of a total of more than £13m in pension savings. When the pair appeared before a judge, after Barratt was extradited from their base in Spain, the court heard they funnelled most of the money to the mastermind of the enterprise, David Austin.
Austin used it to live a life of luxury including ski holidays and trips to Dubai. It was funnelled offshore and funded his businesses, was used to pay others involved in the operation, and enriched himself and family members. He killed himself in 2019, before the criminal investigation was completed. Barratt was jailed for five months and seven months while Dalton was jailed for four years and eight months in April 2022.
TPR said they only became aware of the full story and the extent of the scam following a tipoff from a whistle-blower. Ms Padden has now advised others to “stop and think” before making any decisions about their pension and added: “Give it time, don’t rush into it. Take a step back and take a look at the great big picture – and say is it genuine or is it too good to be true?”
Gaucho Rasmussen, TPR’s executive director of Regulatory Compliance, said: “Pauline’s story starkly demonstrates how ruthlessly scammers will exploit victims’ vulnerability to make their ill-gotten gains. We urge pension 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.
“Scammers’ techniques are evolving – and so is our response. If you suspect a scam, it’s vital you report it to Action Fraud. Every report counts, providing TPR and our PSAG partners across law enforcement, government and the pensions industry with the vital intelligence we need in the fight against fraud and criminality.”
The video, released as part of TPR’s scams awareness week, can be seen here.