The Australian Taxation Office is raising concerns on the increase in phone and email scams that involve fake superannuation investments targeting SMSF trustees.

They have stated that they are seeing a rise in the number of scams involving fraudulent superannuation investments.

Scammers are reportedly “-phoning and emailing people, pretending to be financial advisers or super experts. They are encouraging people to invest their super in a supposedly high performing self-managed super fund (SMSF),” as warned by the ATO.

“Scammers start by persistently asking you for personal or financial information and may ask you to do a super comparison online. They may try and contact you multiple times.”

It was noted that sometimes, scammers will fraudulently use the name and Australian Financial Service Licence (AFSL) of a real business and create a fake website to appear legitimate.

They will discourage you from engaging with the ATO, ASIC or other professionals, and if they succeed in their scam, will transfer your super to their personal bank accounts and disappear with the funds, effectively stealing your super.

It is integral that you always verify who are you dealing with before providing any personal or financial information over the phone or via email.

ASIC’s professional registers list all licensed professionals and allows trustees to ensure that they are not being caught up in a scam.

If you receive any correspondence from the ATO or other agencies or professionals about any super related information that you are unsure of, contact the official ATO line immediately on 13 10 20.

Visit here for more tips on how to recognise and report scams: https://moneysmart.gov.au/how-super-works/superannuation-scams 

If you think you may have been targeted by a super scam, or wish to get in touch with us, you can contact us here.