“The perpetrators believe using the services of registered tax agents and other super professionals to register these fake funds will help them avoid detection,” the ATO said.

The Tax Office said SMSF professionals could protect themselves from unwittingly registering fraudulent funds and companies by verifying client identities when registering ABNs or TFNs and being cautious when accepting new business with new entities.

Professionals should be especially cautious when accepting new business where transactions are online or they receive calls to register and prepare forms for a bulk list of new clients.

Anyone who thinks they have been a victim of SMSF fraud or suspects a new or potential client may be trying to register a fraudulent fund should let the ATO know by phoning the ATO on 1800 062 062 or using the ATO’s online tip-off form.

Tax agents should ensure that any advisers they deal with are on ASIC’s list of professional registers and report any misconduct to ASIC.

This follows the recent release of guidelines by the ATO and Tax Practitioners Board aimed at combating identity theft.

The guidelines outline steps that tax practitioners should take to verify the identity of clients. They also make it clear that the ATO expects tax practitioners to perform identity checks on all new clients, including representatives of new clients and new representatives of existing clients.