Now you CAN’T claim your superannuation early: Claims for early access to help people through coronavirus crisis are stopped because of fraud
- The early access to superannuation scheme was abruptly stopped on Friday
- Up to 150 Australians lost $120,000 in super funds after a tax agent was hacked
- Fraudsters gained access to personal super details during a cyber attack
- The Australian Federal Police and Tax Office are investigating the theft
- Almost $1 billion has been withdrawn from super funds under the scheme
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Claims for early access to superannuation have been stopped by the ATO after up to 150 Australians lost $120,000 to identity theft fraudsters.
Home Affair Minister Peter Dutton said on Friday that superannuation details of clients were being used in ‘a fraudulent way’ after a tax agent was hacked.
Mr Dutton said the Australian Federal Police, the ATO, financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC and other government agencies were investigating the identity theft.
Australians had withdrawn almost $1billion in total from their superannuation funds as of Thursday.
Home Affair Minister Peter Dutton (pictured) said on Friday that superannuation details of up to 150 clients were being used in ‘a fraudulent way’ after a tax agent was hacked
‘There has been one tax agent that has been the subject of a hacking or cyber attack and personal details of clients that are part of that business, they have been exploited,’ Mr Dutton told Sky News.
‘There’s been no cyber intrusion within the the superannuation funds or the ATO.
‘The AFP have really ramped up their engagement to make sure we can come down very heavily on those who would seek to rip off the funds of other taxpayers.’
The Home Affairs Minister said government agencies had ‘jumped pretty quickly to deal with this threat’.
Application page for Australians to gain early access to their superannuation
‘There has been one tax agent that has been the subject of a hacking or cyber attack and personal details of clients that are part of that business, they have been exploited,’ Mr Dutton told Sky News. Pictured: file image of a hacker
Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar initially announced claims to early super would be frozen while the alleged frauds were investigated earlier on Friday.
‘Today we will undertake that process just to make sure there is nothing more that the ATO could do,’ he told Sky News.
More than 1.2 million Australians had applied to withdraw almost $10 billion from their super funds to get them through the COVID-19 pandemic as of Thursday.
Of the $10billion requested, almost $1billion has already been withdrawn – including the $120,000 stolen.
One applicant reportedly had their details stolen and lost $10,000 from their superannuation account.
Of the $10 billion requested, almost $1 billion has already been withdrawn – including the $120,000 stolen (stock image)
‘A small number of people appear to have had personal details unlawfully used in a bid to defraud the program,’ the ATO said in a statement on Wednesday.
‘This has been stopped and the impacted individuals are being contacted.
‘The matter is currently under investigation by the AFP and for operational reasons we are unable to comment further at this stage.’
Under new rules to help people through the coronavirus crisis, Australians can take $20,000 out of their retirement funds tax-free.
Eligible applicants can take $10,000 of their super between 20 April and 30 June 2020 and a further $10,000 in the 2020-21 financial year.
The average amount of each withdrawal is around $8,000, totalling $7.9billion, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.