West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed a ban on cold-calling which targets people with large pensions savings. The ban, confirmed by the Treasury today, will mean that people making illegal calls can be find fined up to £500,000. Fraudsters are targeting people with sizeable pensions pots and stealing sums averaging nearly £100,000, leaving them with greatly-reduced incomes. Harriett welcomed this measure and urged people receiving such calls to report them to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Harriett commented: “Cold calling is a nuisance for most of us, but this recent trend, for fraudsters to cheat pensioners out of their hard-earned savings, is disgraceful. “This latest ban is an important step forward in combating this crime, and I encourage anyone who has had a suspicious call to report it directly to the Information Commissioner. “If you need pensions advice, it is always best to talk to a properly-regulated adviser. If someone cold-calls you offering you a deal that seems too good to be true, then it probably is.” The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted by ringing 0303 123 1113 or by visiting www.ico.org.uk.