South Africa Warns Taxpayers of Cybercriminals. Taxpayers are urged to stay watchful as cyber crimes about tax activities continue to rise.
As the South African Revenue Service (SARS) announces 15 July 2024 as the commencement date of the filing season for provisional and non-provisional taxpayers who must file a tax return, a critical warning has been issued.
South Africa Warns Taxpayers of Cybercriminals: Experts Opinion
According to tax experts at Tax Consulting SA, there has been a significant increase in the number of tax scams in 2024.
Cybercriminals continue to upgrade their operation by keeping themselves apprised of the latest developments at SARS to better dupe innocent taxpayers.
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The tax season has become a common time for cybercriminals to send out fraudulent emails and SMSs using addresses like returns@sars.co.za or refunds@sars.co.za, so it looks like it is from the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
In their communications, they usually claim that the recipient is due a tax refund or owes money to SARS.
Messages also usually include links to fake forms and websites that look like the official SARS site to get taxpayers to release personal information to make payments.
Speaking on the matter, Carey van Vlaanderen, CEO of ESET Southern Africa stated that, similar to many other online scams, tax scams depend on some form of social engineering.
Scammers often make contact via email or SMS with the claim of an error on an individual’s tax return that needs instant rectification, along with the threat of penalties if not resolved immediately.
Vlaanderen advises taxpayers to never make a hasty decision but instead keep their cool and verify the authenticity of any communication before replying or taking action.
Meanwhile, SARS says that it will never request banking details via post, email, or SMS.
While a SARS representative may confirm personal details over the phone, SARS will not send hyperlinks to other websites to confirm said details.
The tax body also mentioned that it does not send .htm or .html attachments and will never ask for credit card details.
Taxpayers are advised to get an understanding of how SARS communicates so they can easily spot red flags in fraudulent communications.
Some of the ways for taxpayers to protect themselves from falling victim is to file their tax return early, take their time to verify SMS messages and emails, use strong passwords, be careful with personal information, stay informed, and pick the right tax professional to assist.
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