AI makes SARS tax scams harder to spot, experts warn

As South Africans adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) with increasing confidence, cybercriminals are capitalizing on this trend to craft increasingly believable scams, experts warn. With the October 23 deadline for filing taxes fast approaching, scammers are exploiting the urgency surrounding refunds, assessments, and outstanding tax matters to pressure individuals into acting hastily without verifying the authenticity of messages.

Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & CISO advisor at KnowBe4 Africa, and Chris Norton, general manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Kaspersky, have highlighted how AI is enabling fraudsters to produce sophisticated SARS-related communications that are nearly indistinguishable from genuine ones. Research from KPMG and the University of Melbourne revealed that 62% of South Africans trust AI, a rate significantly higher than the global average of 46%.

This elevated level of trust is making it harder for people to discern between real and fake SARS messages, investment offers, and tax documents.

Collard pointed out that scammers no longer need to rely on obvious red flags such as poor grammar, fake logos, or unnatural voices. Instead, they can exploit the realism of deepfakes and AI-generated content to make their scams appear professional and trustworthy. She emphasized that people tend to trust messages from familiar sources or those with polished content, even if they are fraudulent.

Norton stressed that the approaching tax deadline provides scammers with an additional opportunity to launch their schemes. Kaspersky researchers have identified phishing websites mimicking SARS eFiling and malicious attachments with names like "Tax Returns Of RXX,XXX.XXX" and "Final_Assessment_Notification-2026-0X-0X.pdf." Fake emails often use phrases like "Refund due" and "SARS Letter of demand" to lure recipients into opening attachments or following instructions.

SARS has also issued warnings to taxpayers about scams and phishing attempts during the 2026 filing season. The revenue service advised that it will never request sensitive information such as passwords, one-time PINs, or eFiling login credentials through email, SMS, social media, or telephone.

Collard cautioned that taxpayers should be wary of relying on AI chatbots for critical financial decisions. She advised using AI tools merely to understand concepts and formulate better questions, rather than accepting their advice as conclusive. Norton also cautioned taxpayers to be cautious about the information they provide to AI services while handling tax matters. He emphasized that sensitive financial and personal data should remain private and should only be processed through trusted sources.

As the deadline nears, taxpayers are urged to verify tax assessments, refunds, and other financial information directly through official SARS eFiling channels or other trusted digital platforms, rather than clicking on links in unsolicited messages.