The South African Revenue Service (Sars) warned members of the public of randomly emailed false “spoofed” emails that have been made to look as if they have been sent from the Agency, but in actual fact are aimed at enticing unsuspecting taxpayers to part with personal information, such as bank account details.
According to Sars, this includes emails that appear to be from [email protected] or [email protected] indicating that taxpayers are eligible to receive tax refunds but it is actually criminals who after extracting information that they use fraudulently.
According to the Department of Employment and Labour, scammers are claiming that an amount of R21,785 is due and ready to be paid out after a “UIF Registration and Clearance” amount of R298.67 is paid to them.
In a statement, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has emphasised:
All UIF services are free of any charge and the Fund will never request any money for its services or claims. The Fund and the Labour Department have both since warned clients, stakeholders, and the South Africans at large against this scam.
The UIF gives short-term relief to workers when they become unemployed or are unable to work because of maternity, adoption and parental leave, or illness.
This also includes relief being paid out to the dependents of a deceased contributor and all of these services are charge free.
“We urge our clients and members of the public at large to be vigilant and to discard any information material that aims to confuse and defraud South Africans,” indicated UIF Communications Director, Trevor Hattingh.
The public has been advised to report to the UIF Fraudline on 0800 601 148, or alternatively to the Department of Employment and Labour Hotline on 0860 666 883, should they come across information of this nature.
In 2021, 11 suspects benefiting from the Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme were arrested, so the department needs the assistance of the public to make sure that something is done to eliminate fraudulent activities.
