5 steps to help keep your super safe
05 February 2020
5
min read
It’s important to treat your financial assets, including your super, with the same caution as your physical assets. These suggestions from QSuper’s Financial Crimes team may help you keep all your savings safe.
QSuper is committed to protecting your super savings and has strong measures in place to detect suspicious behaviour. This includes a fraud and corruption control policy that provides for detection, prevention and reporting of financial crimes.
There are also actions you can take to prevent yourself becoming a victim of a financial crime. Working in the QSuper Financial Crimes team, Rebecca Mallett provides some best practice guidance:
Simple steps to protect your savings
1. Check balances regularly
Regular checking of financial transactions and balances is one of the best security precautions that superannuation investors can take. If you see any unusual transactions in your account, get in touch with QSuper immediately to discuss your concerns.
2. Add additional security to your accounts
Extra security checks can be added to your accounts. The additional security questions can be put on for a specified period of time or on an ongoing basis. Contact QSuper to activate additional security checks.
3. Delete sent emails
Hackers can use items in your email account to replicate your digital identity. While it is recommended to regularly delete items from your email account, sent emails are an often-forgotten area that provides another avenue of opportunity for hackers.
People check and delete emails from their inbox but can often overlook what has been sent. It’s not just about keeping your super safe, it is about keeping your identity safe,” Ms Mallett said.
4. Protect your passwords
One of the most important ways to keep your accounts safe is to protect your passwords. Choose passwords that are difficult for others to guess and update them regularly, as well as if your circumstances change. Don’t use passwords that use your name or other identifying characteristics.
And don’t share passwords with anyone – including your partner, accountant or financial adviser. If you need to reset your password, give QSuper a call, or change it quickly online.
5. Regularly check third party authorities
Third party and Personal authority requests can be loaded onto your account and remain valid for a period of 3 years from acceptance.
It’s important to ensure that you regularly review these requests and keep them up-to-date or have them removed from your account when circumstances change. This could include when there is a relationship breakdown as these remain valid until revoked or the 3-year expiry date.
If you need to, call QSuper and disconnect the authority on file,” Ms Mallett said.
Extra Dos and Don'ts
To help keep your personal information and savings safe, consider these suggestions:
Be conscious of the amount of personal information you share online.
If you need a record of an email you have sent, save it into an encrypted file.
Keep anti-virus security on computers and devices up-to-date.
Invest in a locked PO Box if you are worried about your mail being intercepted.
If your circumstances change, remember to also review third party authorities and binding death benefit nominations.
Request additional security on your account if you have concerns.
Ask your financial institution to authenticate unusual behaviour on your account.
Regularly check your financial transactions and report any that concern you immediately.
Don’t open suspicious emails or texts and don’t click on suspicious links in emails.
Don’t use free Wifi (if you have to put personal information into it, don’t use it).
How real is the risk?
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC)1 said serious financial crime affected Australians of all walks of life.
In its 2017 report Serious Financial Crime in Australia2, ACIC said targeted data hacks to obtain personal identifying information, which could then be used to facilitate other financial crimes such as card fraud, were increasing. Cybercrime intrusions into personal and financial information on superannuation and payroll platforms were also on the increase.
Find out more ways to protect your privacy.
Australians are also subject to an increasing number of scams, with Australians losing $489.7 million to scammers in 20183. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) 10th annual Targeting Scams report showed the number of scams reported in Australia last year topped 378,000.
Find out more about protecting yourself from scams.
How QSuper protects your privacy
As part of the QSuper Group's commitment to protect your personal information to the highest standard, we have practices in place that we strictly follow when we collect, use, disclose and store your personal information. We comply with the Information Privacy Principles in the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld), and QInvest Limited and QInsure Limited are required to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) for certain activities they perform.
For more information about our privacy practices, please see the QSuper Your Privacy factsheet.4
If you have any questions, we are here to help.
Call us on 1300 360 750.
The views of Ms Mallet are not necessarily the views of the QSuper Board. This is general information only.
1.Media Release, 21 December 2017, New ACIC report reveals financial crime is on the rise, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, at acic.govcms.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases-and-statements/new-acic-report-reveals-financial-crime-rise
2. ACIC, 2017, Serious Financial Crime in Australia, accessed 26 June 2018 at https://acic.govcms.gov.au/sites/g/files/net3726/f/sfca_2017.pdf?v=1513829536
3. ACCC, Targeting Scams, Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2018, accessed 19 September 2019 at https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Targeting%20scams—Report%20of%20the%20ACCC%20on%20scams%20activity%202018.pdf
4. QInvest Limited (ABN 35 063 511 580, AFSL 238274) and QInsure Limited (ABN 79 607 345 853, AFSL 483057) are ultimately owned by the QSuper Board as trustee for QSuper.