Fraudsters are trying to cash in on the phenomenal success of pensioner bonds with bogus web sites inviting applications even though the official offer has closed.
Sold by the Treasury-backed NS&I, millions of pounds of the bonds were sold to investors aged over 65 years old.
But the NS&I have revealed scammers have set up bogus web sites and are sending out fake emails urging savers to call and invest in the bonds.
Savers are warned that clicking the links to online search results for the bonds will divert them to web sites where scammers demand proof of identity and bank account details.
The bond offer closed on May 15, 2015 after hitting the government investment target of £10 billion.
Fake web sites
Each saver could invest between £500 and £10,000 in return for market-leading fixed rate returns – interest of 2.8% over 12 months and 4% over three years.
NS&I is warning savers not to hand over their personal and financial details to the scammers.
“Scam victims are sent an e-mail or receive a telephone call after signing up on the web site,” said an NS&I spokesman.
“They send fake forms or ask for proof of identity and bank details on the phone. A name that keeps cropping up on the calls and paperwork is Kevin Archer.”
“We never ask for this information and anyone who is contacted by these fraudsters should contact us straight away.”
The contact number for the NS&I customer service centre is 0500 007 007, or emails can be sent to [email protected]
Bogus bonds
Archer’s name is on many of the bogus emails sent by the fraudsters listing the fake web site nsandisplus65.co.uk with the phone number 0800 048 8983.
The web site is no longer online and the phone number is disconnected.
NS&I was the only distributor of the bonds, which was hailed as the most successful financial products ever when more than £1 billion of bonds were sold on the first day the offer opened and more than 110,000 customers signing up by January 2015.
NS&I have pledged to investigate all complaints about bogus bond sellers, but may not respond to each individual scam alert.
“We want to make sure no one who holds an account with us has their money at risk because they have passed access details to a fraudster,” said the spokesman. “Anyone who believes they are a victim of these scammers should contact us.”