{"id":1196,"date":"2022-05-03T05:25:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T05:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/?p=1196"},"modified":"2022-05-03T05:25:07","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T05:25:07","slug":"ato-ramps-up-identity-fraud-detection-for-new-smsfs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/ato-ramps-up-identity-fraud-detection-for-new-smsfs\/","title":{"rendered":"ATO ramps up identity fraud detection for new SMSFs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Around a quarter of the individuals being identified as high risk under the ATO\u2019s new registrant program have compromised identities, said the ATO.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ATO deputy commissioner, superannuation and employer obligations, Emma Rosenzweig said that with the ATO seeing more and more instances of stolen identities being used to set up new SMSFs, identity fraud is an important feature of the ATO\u2019s new registrant program for SMSFs.<\/p>\n

The ATO\u2019s new registrant program undertakes a risk assessment of individuals entering the SMSF sector and refers any entrants that are considered high risk for further scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Ms Rosenzweig said around 25 per cent of the members identified as higher risk under the ATO\u2019s risk assessment are being reviewed because the member has a compromised identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means a very high risk of fraud. We won\u2019t stop doing that because that is a real risk to retirement savings with scams [on the rise],\u201d she told delegates at the SMSF Association National Conference last week.<\/p>\n

The ATO is seeing increased instances of fraudsters registering an SMSF, orchestrating a rollover from the victim\u2019s APRA fund into a fund bank account controlled by them and then stealing the victim\u2019s retirement savings, she warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce it\u2019s gone, it\u2019s virtually impossible to get it back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 2021 financial year, we identified increasing numbers of individuals that were victims of identity fraud, where SMSFs were registered without their knowledge or consent.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily, for most of these victims, we detected the fraud in time to protect their super. Unfortunately, however, a small few did get through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Rosenzweig noted recent alerts issued by ASIC about scammers posing as financial advisers and offering a superannuation fund comparison service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese scammers use aggressive cold calling tactics promising unusually high investment returns facilitated through an SMSF,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo appear legitimate, they utilise company names, emails and fake websites that impersonate well-known Australian companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ATO\u2019s use of alerts has helped prevent a number of fraudulent activities from occurring, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a new SMSF is set up or a member is added to an existing SMSF, the ATO sends an alert via text message or email to the members of the SMSF. We also send an alert to members when changes are made to an existing SMSFs bank account, electronic service address or authorised contacts,\u201d she reminded SMSF professionals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese alerts prompt the individual to get in touch with us if they are unaware of these changes, so we can stop the fund registration or the change of details from proceeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there has been debate around whether these alerts should go to the client or their adviser, Ms Rosenzweig said these alerts would always go to the client directly.<\/p>\n

It is also important, she said, that clients are very careful with who they provide their identity and superannuation details to, particularly if they\u2019re dealing with a third party who they\u2019ve only engaged with online or over the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also important to remind your clients to check that they\u2019re dealing with a licensed financial adviser,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nMiranda Brownlee<\/p>\n

28 April 2022\u00a0<\/p>\n

smsfadviser.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Around a quarter of the individuals being identified as high risk under the ATO\u2019s new registrant program have compromised identities, said the ATO.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1197,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196\/revisions\/1197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actinvest.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}