Martin Lewis and Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigners have issued a fresh warning against a rise in fake WASPI compensation sites.
WASPI women are being urged to stay alert following a steep rise in fraudulent websites claiming that compensation is available, with some requesting personal details from 1950s-born women.
More than 3.6 million women were affected by the Department for Work and Pensions’ failure to properly inform them of increases to their State Pension age.
After a long-running battle for justice, the Government apologised for the mistakes it made in December 2024 but stopped short of setting out a compensation scheme for those impacted.
With a High Court challenge by WASPI campaigners currently in progress, opportunist scammers have seized on unsuspecting women affected by the pension fiasco.
Some of the fake sites to emerge falsely claim that “DWP announces £3,000 compensation for 3.8 million WASPI women” while another labels itself as a “Martin Lewis WASPI Calculator”.
Affected women have also received emails from bogus groups asking for sensitive information.
At least one WASPI woman in Derbyshire reported that she had been asked to provide copies of her birth certificate and bank details through an online form, before realising it was a scam.
WASPI chair Angela Madden said recent days had seen an “alarming spike” in the number of scams, saying the behaviour of those preying on vulnerable women is “nothing short of disgraceful”.
She said any announcement on compensation for WASPI women would only ever come from the Government. However, with ministers repeatedly refusing to pay up, no such scheme currently exists.
Angela Madden, chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), said: “WASPI has fielded dozens of queries from women following an alarming spike in fraudulent websites appearing in recent days.
“The need for compensation is so urgent that it is the most vulnerable women who are at risk from scammers. The behaviour of opportunists who seek to exploit them is nothing short of disgraceful.
“Any announcement on compensation will only ever come from the Government. Anybody who has shared sensitive information or feels they are at risk should contact Action Fraud.”
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert, commented: “The word scammers underplays the danger, of what are often organised criminal gangs using psychologically adept tactics to steal from people. They leach on to anything they can find, and compensation over the change in state pension age seems to be a new trend.
“Even if they’re not asking for money, they could be trying to take your information as part of a wider fraud. Be incredibly careful, don’t click advertising or other links on social media, unless it is from a validated trusted source.
“And to be very plain, I don’t do adverts nor allow anyone to use my name for endorsements. All my information will always be on my site MoneySavingExpert.com so if you can’t find it there, and see it elsewhere, it’s very likely a scam.”
Fran McSweeney, head of services at Independent Age, added: “It’s concerning to hear that older women are being asked for their bank details and copies of their birth certificates by potential scammers. Anyone can be a targeted in this way, and a scam will often take advantage of events in the news, such as a WASPI compensation scheme.
“While scams can be very sophisticated, there are things people can do to protect themselves. Never be rushed into sharing personal details out of the blue and contact your bank if you think you’ve been tricked into revealing any of your banking details. If what you’re told sounds unlikely or too good to be true, it probably is."
