The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have seen an increase in the instances of stolen identities being used to set up a new SMSF. Once a fraudster manages to register an SMSF, the criminals, of course, will then orchestrate rollovers into their bank accounts under their control and, unfortunately, abscond with the retirement savings of their victims.
A key strategy the ATO has deployed to mitigate fraud and scams is to issue alerts. When a new SMSF is set up, or a member is added to the existing SMSF, the ATO sends an alert via a text message or email along with alerts when the SMSF bank account electronic service address or authorised contacts for the fund have changed.
As per the ATO's instructions, if you receive an ATO SMSF alert and are not aware of any activity, make sure you act and contact the ATO quickly.
It is important to protect your identity and account details to ultimately protect your superannuation.
Here are our top tips for protecting your identity and your super:
Make sure your details with the ATO and your super fund are up to date.
Be cautious of what you share – don’t give out TFN, date of birth, bank or super details unless you trust the person you’re dealing with and they require these details.
Don't ignore ATO issued SMS or email alerts: if you are in a self-managed super fund (SMSF) and you receive an alert from the ATO about changes to your SMSF that you are unaware of, phone the ATO immediately on the Superannuation Infoline 13 10 20. They can place protective measures on your ATO account if required.
We will always try to assist you with your superannuation and tax affairs. If you suspect you have been a target of identity theft or a scam the best approach is for us to work together to have protective measures put in place in order to keep your tax and superannuation safe and secure.