SARS fraud warning

With SARS impersonation fraud on the rise, the taxman warned consumers to be careful and keep their personal information safe.

The 2025 tax season is now in full swing, and fraudsters are taking advantage of what is a stressful and uncertain time for many people.

In 2025, in particular, SARS is ramping up its collection efforts, and it is better equipped than ever to do so. In the 2025/26 Budget, the National Treasury gave SARS a R3.5 billion funding boost.

The taxman also received an additional R4 billion over the medium term to enhance tax compliance and efficiency.

In 2025/26, SARS aims to address the tax gap to improve revenue collection by leveraging artificial intelligence and data science to improve taxpayer compliance and trade facilitation.

With this improved efficiency, experts have warned taxpayers to get their tax affairs in order to avoid strict penalties. 

For South Africans who want to avoid the taxman’s scrutiny, they may be tempted to comply with any SARS request they receive. For fraudsters, this is a golden opportunity. 

On 17 July, Capitec sent an alert warning its customers to be careful of SARS impersonation scams, which involves fraudsters pretending to be the taxman to steal personal information or money. 

SARS told Daily Investor that over the last few year, it has seen an increase in fraudsters impersonating the revenue service.

“Just like all entities, SARS has seen concerted attempts to defraud taxpayers and the organisation,” the taxman said. 

For example, the JSE has also recently warned against deepfake scams, where fraudsters impersonate executives at the company and promote fraudulent investment schemes. 

Scammers have also been known to impersonate consumers’ banks or even the police in order to defraud them. 

As technology advances, scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and convincing. This means that now, more than ever, consumers need to be vigilant. 

How taxpayers can stay safe

“Taxpayers are urged to be extremely careful and keep their details confidential,” SARS said. “In the run-up to Filing Season, there will be many attempts from scammers to defraud taxpayers.”

“Scammers can present themselves as SARS officials to steal taxpayers’ personal details, make them click on links, or pay money into an account. SARS will never ask taxpayers to use any link.” 

SARS urged taxpayers to be cautious of emails or SMS that instruct them to provide personal information, bank details or click on links. 

“Scammers often use urgent language to imply you need to take immediate action to receive a refund or settle a debt. SARS will never ask for personal information such as banking details via email, SMS or over the phone.”

According to Capitec, which sent an alert warning its customers to be careful of SARS impersonation scams, fraudsters may use a variety of tactics to target victims. 

“They may threaten you with penalties for an outstanding payment or claim there’s a tax refund due to you,” the bank said. 

To avoid falling victim to one of these scams, SARS urged taxpayers to protect their eFiling login details and use only registered tax practitioners.

Capitec also offered the following guidelines to help consumers stay safe from SARS impersonation fraud. 

• SARS will never send links in an email or SMS – don’t click on links claiming to be from SARS
• Taxpayers must sign in to their official eFiling profile for SARS updates
• They must only pay using the registered SARS beneficiary on their banking app
• SARS will never for a PIN, password or card info

In the case where a taxpayer falls victim to a SARS impersonation scam, the taxman urges them to report the crime to the police. 

Taxpayers can also report or request information on phishing by sending an email to [email protected]. Additionally, South Africans can find information on the latest scams on SARS’ website.