SARS warns of job scam

Friday, February 17, 2017

Pretoria - The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has warned job seekers to be vigilant of an employment scam doing the rounds.

“SARS has noted a SARS-branded e-mail that is being circulated which confirms acceptance of the recipient into a bogus SARS Learnership Programme. The prospective applicant is then instructed to make a deposit of an ‘administrative fee’ into a Shoprite Money Market Service account for the application to be processed,” said the revenue service on Thursday.

The e-mail scam is an adaptation of another scam where individuals posing as SARS staff notify people that they have been successfully employed by SARS and are required to buy uniforms and identity cards which are SARS-branded and appear authentic.

“Members of the public are reminded that SARS will never ask that a payment be made into any other account. SARS does not endorse commercial venues. The public is also urged not respond to e-mails from unknown sources. Any correspondence can be verified by contacting the SARS contact centre or the nearest SARS branch,” it said.

The revenue service urged the public to report illegal scams to the police.

SARS also advised the public on how to keep from falling victim to a scam by taking note of the following:

  • Verify any correspondence or personal identification cards by contacting the SARS contact centre or nearest branch. 
  • SARS officials are legally required to present a SARS identity card when interacting with taxpayers. Specific information on these cards can first be verified with the SARS contact centre or at a SARS branch. 
  • Do not make any immediate commitments or provide any personal information, including banking details except through direct contact with SARS contact centre or branch visit.
  • SARS does not endorse commercial ventures, programmes, schemes and offers. The legitimacy of payment channels can be verified via the SARS contact centre or on the SARS website.
  • The location and listing of all SARS offices and branches can be found on the SARS website.

The revenue service said it will never request taxpayers or the public for their banking details in any communication including post, email or SMS. Taxpayers who are concerned about emails or SMS messages claiming to be from SARS should: