Superannuation funds warn scams on the rise

It’s the nest egg. Not all of us keep a close eye on how often do you check your super. Often because I work in super. Probably well, once every two months. Not that often, probably once a year. But scanners have set their sights firmly on our super organised crime groups are now targeting superannuation. Aware Supers Head of financial crime Samuel Pascoe says the fund has seen a 208% increase in attempted frauds in the past six months. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, you can be the victim of a scam on your superannuation account. It’s an industry wide problem according to Super Consumers Australia. Our set and forget mentality when it comes to super is putting many Aussies at risk. We’ve heard about people losing hundreds of thousands of dollars just as they’re heading into retirement. As scammers become more sophisticated, they want funds to up their security in the same way banks have. While anyone at any age can fall victim to a scam, it’s older Australians already drawing down on their super who are more likely to be targeted. Scammers are really looking at that group of people because they know that they can get really easy access without having to go around all the rules that would require someone who’s younger to access their superannuation earlier. Aware Supers Financial Crime Team has so far been able to identify and block scams, preventing $36 million in losses in just the past year, but it wants its 1.1 million members to work with them to safeguard their future. Make sure that you’re engaging with your fund. Make sure you know your super balance. You just have to be incredibly alert to protect yourself in the city. Cape Creedon 9 News.