image source, Getty Images
Victims were encouraged to invest their pensions by fake companies
A County Down man was defrauded of his pension and savings and has had almost all his money returned by his bank.
Trading standards ensured his victory, which he said was one of the largest cases ever decided by the Financial Ombudsman.
He invested a six-figure sum in fraudulent companies.
The man, whom the BBC calls Mark, wishes to remain anonymous.
His investments started with £200 and grew quickly as the investments seemed to pay off.
Eventually, a fake company advised him to invest his pension pot, but it was then revealed to be a scam and he lost everything.
“Everything is gone.”
When Mark realized this, he begged the people behind him to give him some of the money back.
“I said they didn't have enough money left to bury me,” he said.
“I neglected my duty to take care of everyone. I had two daughters, but I had nothing to support them or help them if they needed it.
“If something were to happen to me, my wife would be relieved and everything would go away.”
Mark fought for almost two years to get his money back. He was repeatedly turned down by the Financial Ombudsman and his bank, but with the help of Trading Standards he continued his fight and eventually won repayment from the bank.
“They completely turned everything upside down,” he said.
Mark added that the support and guidance he received was “invaluable”.
“I would say to anyone in a similar scenario, please turn to Trading Standards for any amount.”
Mark was helped by the fact that he kept detailed notes of all documents and all conversations. He traced the company to an address in Scotland, which also turned out to be fake.
“I didn't know that the bank owed me a duty of care.”
“Abyss of despair”
Northern Ireland Trading Standards Chief Inspector Damien Doherty said he was “delighted” with the outcome, adding: “It has taken a long time to get there.”
Damien Doherty of Trading Standards assisted Mark in bringing the case to the Financial Ombudsman.
“We thought we had a good case to take,” Dougherty said.
“Every time this case came to us, we were dealing with people who were in the depths of despair, who had lost hope, who really had nowhere else to turn, and the amount of money involved was enormous.
“Unfortunately, the fraudsters got away with it, but banks have a duty of care to their customers and there is a code of practice that all banks are aware of when it comes to protecting customers from crime and fraud, especially fraud. there is.”
Mark describes the moment he received the news that he would receive a large amount of money back: “I received an email on Friday informing me of the decision, but I was unable to see it.
“I read it on Sunday. That was the first night I ever slept properly.”
But he says there was no joy or celebration. “The only thing I'm going to celebrate is that these guys get caught and I have to pay the money back out of my own pocket.
“They know they'll never get caught doing this.”
“Scammers don't warn you of the risks”
Software engineer Jim Browning told BBC News NI that there are warning signs to look out for when it comes to sophisticated scams like the one Mark fell victim to.
“A genuine investment company will tell you about the risk of losing your money. A scammer will never tell you,” he explained.
“That's a red flag. They'll say anything to encourage investment.”
Mr Browning told Evening Extra it was important to remember that fraudsters are experts at making their scams look legitimate.
“They have a lot of experience with this scam. You will definitely be the first person they pass with this scam,” he said.
“Even if you looked at some of these websites, it would be very difficult to understand that this was done by amateurs.”
