v AVAILABLE ON ALL DEVICES v 9th October 2025 • The HERALD • Page 71 ASK A PROFESSIONAL Helen Sparks Mortgages & Financial Services Offering professional advice since 1985 Mortgages Residential Life Time Equity Release Buy to Let – first time landlords Property Portfolios Help to Buy Insurance Buildings & Contents Insurance Life Assurance Critical Illness Income Protection YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS This firm usually charges a fee for mortgage advice. The amount of the fee will depend upon your circumstances and will be discussed and agreed with you at the earliest opportunity. Some forms of buy to let mortgage are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 023 8084 4108 enquiries@helensparks.com Helen Goodall T/A Helen Sparks Mortgages & Financial Services is an appointed representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Protect Your Pension From Fraud Advice from Hampshire Alert Savers and those reaching retirement age are being warned to protect their pensions and look out for criminals trying to catch people out of their life savings, with Action Fraud revealing a total annual loss of £17,567,249. is equates to roughly £48,129 lost to this type of fraud per day in 2024. Data reveals there were 519 reports of pension fraud in total and £17,567,249 lost in 2024, with an average loss of £33,848 per person. Action Fraud, with support from the Pension Scams Action Group (PSAG), has launched a pension fraud awareness campaign, warning people to take extra measures to protect their pension scheme accounts and to be cautious of investment opportunity o ers from criminals that could be targeting them. How can you protect yourself against Pension fraud? Secure your online pension account: e account you use to manage your pension should have a di erent password to all of your other accounts. Use three random words to create a strong and memorable password, and enable 2-step veri cation (2SV). Ignore unsolicited calls about your pension: Cold calling about pensions is illegal and likely a sign of a scam. If you’re thinking about changing your pension arrangements, you should get nancial guidance or advice beforehand. Investment opportunities: Don’t be rushed into making an investment. Remember, legitimate organisations will never pressure you into investing on the spot. You should treat investment opportunities with extreme caution if there’s: • Pressure to invest (for example: timelimited o ers). • Downplayed risk of losing your money. • Promised returns that sound too good to be true. Remember to Stop! ink Fraud! What can you do if you have been a victim of pension fraud? Report pension scams: if you’re worried about a potential pension scam or you think you may have been contacted by a criminal, report it to Action Fraud: actionfraud.police.uk or call: 0300 123 2040. If you have made a payment: inform your bank or pension provider as soon as possible, they can help you prevent any further losses. Monitor your bank and pension statements regularly for any unusual activity.
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