One text message that led a nurse to give away her entire life savings

A vulnerable nurse has spoken of how she was swindled out of her entire retirement savings by fraudsters.

Pauline Padden, a children's critical care nurse at Alder Hey in Liverpool, was preyed upon by scammers via text when dealing with her mother's illness in hospital and facing financial concerns about how to meet mortgage payments.

In a new The Pensions Regulator (TPR) campaign video, the 60-year-old shared her harrowing experience: "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?," reports the Liverpool Echo.

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“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." Engaging with the convincing scammer, Ms Padden spoke to the man on the phone and even received documentation about how to improve returns on her pension investment, including the promise of a 10% value back as a gift.

She recounted how she initially transferred £25,000 and got £2,500 back, unaware that the 'gift' was actually siphoned from her own pension. It wasn't until 18 months later, when she received a letter from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) listing dubious pension schemes, that she realised something was amiss.

The letter suggested they might be scams. Eventually, it came to light that fraudsters had pilfered her entire £45,000 savings.

She expressed her despair: "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 took legal action against Alan Barratt and Susan Dalton for their role in defrauding Ms Padden and others. The investigation revealed that she was among 245 victims who were collectively conned out of over £13m in pension funds.

In court, following Barratt's extradition from Spain, it was disclosed that the majority of the stolen money went to the scheme's architect, David Austin.

Austin used the embezzled funds to lead a life of opulence, splurging on ski vacations and jaunts to Dubai. His ill-gotten gains were siphoned offshore to support his enterprises, compensate co-conspirators, and line the pockets of himself and his relatives.

However, Austin's life took a tragic turn when he took his own life in 2019, ahead of the conclusion of the criminal probe. As for his partners in crime, Barratt received a sentence of five months and seven months imprisonment, while Dalton was handed four years and eight months behind bars back in April 2022.

The full scale of their nefarious scheme came to light for The Pensions Regulator (TPR) after they were tipped off by an alert whistle-blower. Ms. Padden has since implored others to "stop and think" when it comes to pension choices, advising: "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? " Adding to the cautionary note, Gaucho Rasmussen, TPR's executive director of Regulatory Compliance, stated: "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."