Beware of tax scams as Sars tax season deadline draws near
As the end of South Africa's tax season approaches on October 21, 2024, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) is warning taxpayers to be cautious of a new tax scam.
According to a statement released by Sars, the latest scam is an email that is sent to taxpayers, informing them about an unsettled payment that they owe to Sars.
The email reads: “We have identified that you have an overdue payment of R1,420 which is required to be settle immediately.”
In the email, taxpayers are urged to settle the outstanding payment by making a payment into a bank account using the banking details that are in the email.
The email will include banking details like payment reference, account name and amount that needs to be paid.
Last week, Sars warned taxpayers as well as businesses about fraudsters who were impersonating Sars employees and then sending emails to them.
Sars said that the emails have an attachment with a link where the receiver of the email can ‘settle an outstanding balance or debt’.
The name and contact details of a Sars employee would appear on the email signature, but if taxpayers look closely, the email domain is different.
According to Sars, taxpayers need to take these steps to avoid falling victim to scams:
– Make sure that the email or SMS is genuine and authentic before you click on any link.
– Do not open or respond to emails that are from unknown sources.
– Beware of emails or SMSes asking for personal, tax, banking or eFiling details.
– Sars will never send you hyperlinks to other websites.
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