The ability for individuals to run their own superannuation funds is a powerful concept and arguably the ultimate avenue to allow people to truly shape their retirement savings to suit their personal circumstances.
But nothing so worthwhile and advantageous comes without risk and to this end the structures themselves attract bad actors looking to swindle Australians out of their much valued superannuation savings. This is done through scheme and scam arrangements that are getting more and more sophisticated by the day.
They can involve identity theft and strategies designed to circumvent the law. The latter typically involves the illegal early access of super benefits. This is perpetrated through advising people to roll their retirement savings benefits over from a public offer fund to an SMSF and then drawing those monies immediately before the individual involved has met a condition of release. Given the greater majority of this audience has been running an SMSF for a good number of years I’m pleased to say this type of activity will not be of any relevance.
However no SMSF trustee, no matter how long they have held this position, is immune to criminal activity like identity theft and the promotion of bogus investments designed to funnel a retiree’s savings into the hands of felons.
The good news is the ATO is on the case and has implemented its own safeguard measures to help combat this form of illegal behaviour.
One of the measures the regulator has undertaken is to conduct additional identity checks when an SMSF is established, and on this score no one should be lulled into a false sense of security that this procedure is irrelevant because they have already got an SMSF. It would be dangerous to be under the illusion criminals would not steal the identity of an existing fund trustee, set up a new fund with exactly the same details, and then help themselves to the current fund’s assets.
The ATO is also in the practice of issuing protective alerts for when it is notified of changes in an SMSF’s details or a new member is added to a fund. Amendments of SMSF details that will trigger an alert include changes to relevant addresses, telephone numbers, or bank account details.
The regulator sends these alerts via emails or text messages to trustees and it encourages individuals who receive this type of notification, and know the changes in question are not correct, to make contact with the ATO immediately to allow the fastest possible corrective action to be taken.
This does raise the question as to how you would know a message from the ATO is genuine. Here the regulator has stipulated it will never ask the recipient to click on a link in the said message to confirm details.
So SMSF trustees should take some comfort the ATO is working with them to protect their retirement savings but this should not create an attitude of complacency. As ATO trustee regulatory obligations director Paul Delahunty said at the SMSF Trustee Empowerment Day 2025 co-hosted by smstrusteenews and the SMSF Association: “Despite the safeguards that we may have in place, the responsibility for the fund’s assets and management ultimately lies with the trustees.”
So as a trustee you can rest assured you’re not in this fight alone but you must remain vigilant.