Fraudsters target early super scheme again

A tool used by Australians to consolidate their superannuation accounts has been shut down after fake accounts were set up.

The fraud was detected through the federal government's early access to super scheme, which many people have been using to financially survive the coronavirus crisis.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority deputy chair Helen Rowell has told a Senate inquiry the Australian Taxation Office's SuperMatch tool has been suspended.

The tool helps people find all of their super accounts so they can be merged into one.

Fraudsters were using the tool to see what other accounts people had.

"We made the decision (with the ATO) to close the system down in order to engage with industry to tighten up the requirements around member account creation," Ms Rowell said on Thursday.

There's no evidence money has been lost through the fraud.

APRA is unsure if the matter has been referred to the Australian Federal Police.

The fraud, revealed on Thursday, is separate to another instance where identity thieves attempted to access the superannuation accounts of up to 150 Australians.

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw told another parliamentary committee there had been an increase in fraud with regard to superannuation as well as the JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs.

"That's not unusual with new schemes but we have been able to move very quickly," he said.