Scammers target tax refunds

“SARS will never ask for personal details.”

This reassurance was delivered by South African Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner Edward Kieswetter in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.

As anticipation around tax season mounts, so are the fraudulent schemes of scammers – who are targeting taxpayers with links sent via SMS.

“The scam is an SMS indicating that Sars is conducting an audit on a tax refund. The link leads you to a phishing website, aimed at stealing your information,” warned Kieswetter.

“We caution taxpayers not to press through on links that appear via text messages because these will not be coming from Sars.”

Once a person has provided fraudsters with their personal information, there is nothing the revenue service can do to reverse the redirected funds.

Kieswetter said some banks have phishing detection software, but if a taxpayer’s bank account has been fraudulently accessed and the bank fails to pick it up, taxpayers should enquire with their bank.

He urged citizens not to share their passwords with friends, family or even tax practitioners, as this act of ‘trust’ often leads to fraudulent activity.

While paid funds are irreversible, Kieswetter confirmed that Sars does launch criminal investigations with the Hawks and SAPS.

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