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Keeping your super safe

You’re working hard to build your super savings for retirement, so the last thing you want is to be the victim of any type of fraud or scam. It’s important to understand what you can do to help protect your super and personal information.

Super scams and fraud

What to watch out for

We live in a connected world and use many different ways to communicate, learn, work, shop and travel. From text messages, phone calls, email, mail to the various online search and social media platforms we use every day.

All of these channels are a potential target for scammers and fraudsters to connect with you. They’re mainly after personal information that helps them steal identities and compromise accounts – especially anything to do with your finances – including your super.

Here are some common types of fraud and scams:

Phishing
This type of scam may involve emails, phone calls or SMS messages to trick people into providing their personal and/or financial information. For example, they may pose as the ATO, a bank or super fund, asking you to provide secure information or login to a fake website.
Illegal early release
If you are contacted by a third party about paying a fee to release your super or transfer it to another fund / self-managed super fund (SMSF), it is likely to be a scam. The approach can start as simply as offering a ‘super health check’ – which is sometimes referred to as a ‘lead generator’ scheme. The reality is, there is no fee to be paid and you don’t need an authorised third party to help with the process. Remember, you can’t touch your super until you retire, except in very limited circumstances.
Identity theft
By obtaining your super details, a thief could assume your identity and contact your super fund requesting that your super money be rolled into a fraudulent account.
Self-managed super fund rollover scams
These are scams targeting Australians to establish self-managed super funds (SMSFs), where they’re cold called or emailed and asked to transfer funds from an existing super account to a new SMSF. The super balances are instead transferred to bank accounts controlled by scammers.

Safety tips

Tips to keep your information and super safe

As well as being aware of the types of fraud and scams that exist, here are some tips to help you keep your super, and your life online, safe.

Calls and messages
  • If you receive any suspicious calls or messages, hang up and/or call the company back using a publicly available number.
  • Watch out for suspicious or unsolicited emails. It’s best to ignore them or delete them. Don’t click on any links in, or open files attached to suspicious or unsolicited communications.
  • Be certain of attachments before downloading. If you receive unexpected links or attachments from friends, colleagues or companies, it’s best to verify they actually sent you what you received.
    • Check your account and details
    Monitor your super/retirement account regularly. Get into the habit of logging in and checking your account on a regular basis. When you’re done, make sure to log out as well.
    Sharing personal information
  • Don’t give your personal or financial information to a person, company or website that you don’t know or trust.
  • Be mindful of the information you share on social media. If possible, avoid sharing personal data like your date of birth, address, middle name, travel plans, pet names, etc. and lock down the privacy settings on your accounts.
  • Scammers might try to connect with you by creating fake profiles that impersonate people familiar to you. Therefore, it’s safest to not accept a social network connection until you’re certain you know and trust the person.
  • Keep important mail, documents and account statements in a safe place. If you throw them away, remember to tear them up or shred them first.
  • Make sure your postal mailbox is secure to avoid personal mail being stolen.
    • Be cyber safe
  • Use strong (and different) passwords for all your important accounts and change them regularly. If possible, set up multi factor authentication on any account where it’s available.
  • Don’t use the same username and password across multiple devices, websites and apps.
  • Avoid using public Wi-Fi hotspots because they may not be secure. If you do use it, be sure to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
  • Keep your devices (like mobile phones, tablets and computers) safe by making sure the operating systems are up to date, installing anti-virus software and installing apps from official stores like the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

    • How we protect your super

    We’re working to keep your super safe too

    There are a number of security measures we follow to make sure that your super is safe with us. These include:

    • use of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to access your super account
    • following security questions and optional password verification processes when answering member calls
    • regular call monitoring to make sure compliance and privacy procedures are followed
    • accounts monitored for ongoing fraudulent/suspicious activities
    • adhering to strong proof of identification processes when super claims are made.

    Multi-Factor Authentication explained

    Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is used for all online accounts in the Russell Investments Master Trust. It’s an extra layer of security that can further protect your super account from cyber incidents.

    • Instead of simply being able to log in with your member number and password only, there’s an extra step to help verify your identity and make sure it’s you who is logging in.
    • When you log in for the first time, you will be prompted to set up MFA.
    • From then on, you will need to use MFA each time you log in to your online account.

    If you have any questions about MFA or need help activating it, please give us a call.

    Reporting

    Report suspicious activity

    Notice anything unusual about your super account? Let us know.

    If you notice any unusual or suspicious activity on your account, have reason to suspect someone is trying to access your super savings, or you receive a suspicious phone call or email claiming to be from the Russell Investments Master Trust which you don’t believe is genuine, please call us on 1800 555 667 to report it.

    When reporting any unusual or suspicious activity, or suspected fraud, it’s helpful if you can provide any details relating to the incident, such as names of any party involved, times, location, and events associated with the activity or fraud.

    More information

    Useful resources and information

    For more information about keeping your super safe, refer to these great resources.

    Run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), SCAMwatch aims to help consumers and small businesses recognise, avoid and report scams, and also has information on where to get help.

    The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) MoneySmart website has useful information about super scams, how they work and who scammers target, as well as investment scams and how to spot them.

    eSafety is an independent statutory office supported by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). It has powers relating to cyberbullying, image-based abuse, and illegal and harmful online content.

    The Australian Cyber Security Centre works to improve cyber security, monitoring cyber threats across the globe, so they can alert Australians early on what to do. They also provide advice and information about how to protect yourself online.

    IDCARE is Australia and New Zealand’s national identity and cyber support service, helping thousands of individuals and organisations reduce the harm they experience from the compromise and misuse of their identity information.

    Super Guru is a resource of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA). Its aim is to provide superfund members with super-related information and tools.