The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has called on the government to ban pension firms from contacting consumers without warning via all forms of digital communication, not just via the telephone.
In its response to a consultation on the issue, the trade body stated that while it is supportive of the proposals outlined in the Treasury paper on pension scams, the government should extend the ban to include emails and texts.
A ban on cold calling was announced in the Autumn Statement last year, which the ABI called a “good first step” but encouraged the Government to extend this ban to other forms of digital communication.
Yvonne Braun, director of long-term savings and protection policy at the ABI, said: "Banning cold-calling and other measures in the consultation should help, but we need to make sure cold calls aren't just replaced by a deluge of spam emails and texts.
“That’s why we think further measures to stop fraudsters from using other forms of technology need to be considered by the Government.”
In November the government has confirmed it will ban pensions cold calling, after a parliamentary petition launched by a financial adviser put the issue into the spotlight two months ago.
The ban will stretch to the cold calling of people who have inadvertently opted in to receiving third party communications. Violation of the ban could attract fines of up to £500,000.
julia.faurschou@ft.com
