Fraudulent Requests Around Tax Filing Season

Fraudulent Requests Around Tax Filing Season

Last month at our PWM national conference, I attended a session by an IT specialist in fraudulent online banking activity. 

One of the key take-outs was that your mobile phone is the new gateway to your online banking. Gaining access to your phone by whatever means, greatly increases the probability of access to your bank accounts. 

In addition to proper passwords being a key basic security measure making your phone far more secure, one further aspect highlighted was to use virtual credit cards, that is offered by all banks, is where you can usually have up to 5 of these accounts on your internet banking linked to your main credit card account. 

We can’t get away from online banking, and one of the highest causes of fraud is actually through the many well-known retailers that we all use on an everyday basis for online shopping. It’s not that these retailers themselves are fraudulent, but rather it’s relatively easy for their staff to sell your details to unscrupulous fraudsters.        

For shopping online, you can earmark one virtual credit card account for your internet shopping, and then simply deactivate it each time you make a purchase. This will prevent the fraudster from using your card details, the message that they will get, is that your card is inactive.  

When you wish to shop online again, you simply click the activate button again, and after your shopping, you can then deactivate your virtual card again, until next time.        

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) filing season opens on 21 July, and SARS is now issuing warnings to taxpayers about various scams, including those involving fake emails, SMSs, and fraudulent requests for personal or banking information. 

These scams often impersonate SARS, asking taxpayers to click on links, provide eFiling details, or deposit funds into fraudulent accounts. SARS has also warned about fraudulent refund scams where fraudsters gain access to taxpayer profiles to divert refunds.

Do note that in terms of SARS processes;

SARS will never request your banking details in any communication that you receive via post, email, or SMS. 

However, for telephonic engagement and authentication purposes, SARS will verify your details. 

Importantly, SARS will not send you any hyperlinks to other websites – even those of banks. 

Beware of false SMSs.

SARS does not send .htm or .html attachments.

SARS will never ask for your credit card details.

Late last year SARS released this 1-minute video, that neatly further explains;  

Protect yourself from Scams and Phishing - YouTube

Youth Month | Financial Literacy for Youth Adults

June is youth month, and we are sharing a few thoughts for our young adults;  

Where this is aimed at our young adults, it’s also a good reminder for all of us too.

FRIDAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT