As the tax season approaches, scammers are gearing up to target unsuspecting taxpayers in South Africa. Here’s how to identify and prevent tax scams, courtesy of our cybersecurity experts.

Identifying tax scams

Most scams have two key elements: fear and urgency. Scammers will try to scare you into acting quickly, claiming that you owe money or that your refund is at risk. Be cautious of emails, phone calls, and text messages that:

  • Demand immediate payment via debit card, EFT,
  • Threaten arrest or additional fines,
  • Ask for personal or financial information via email, text message, or social media,
  • Demand payment without allowing you to question or appeal the amount owed.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) will never contact you in these ways. If you’re unsure, visit the official SARS website or contact them directly.

Recent example

In a recent example, we saw clients receiving an email claiming to be from SARS, with the subject line: Notification from SARS, and the reply-to address set as noreply@sars.gov.za. The sender address was certainly not from SARS, but the Name was set to sars.gov.za.

Always check the Sender Address, not just the Senders Name. Look for typos such as double letters, or visual tricks such as ‘rn’ instead of ‘m’, which one might miss when reading quickly.

Responding to scams

If you receive a suspicious call, hang up. If you get a suspicious email or text, delete it without clicking on any links. Don’t trust the sender’s identity, as it’s easy to spoof email addresses and caller IDs.

Be cautious of file attachments with strange file extensions, especially .exe or .rar files.

If you’re concerned that a message might be real, contact SARS directly. To check on your refund, visit the official SARS eFiling website.

Preventing tax return fraud

Use a strong, unique password for your SARS eFiling account, and make sure to use a password keeper such as KeePassXC.

Sharing tax data securely

When sharing sensitive tax information with your practitioner, ensure they have a secure online portal, such as https://send.noiz.co.za. Avoid emailing sensitive documents without encrypting them first. Read our article on how to send files securely to learn more.

Stay safe this tax season by being vigilant and taking proactive steps to protect yourself from tax scams.