The growing trust South Africans place in artificial intelligence (AI) provides cybercriminals with a new tool as taxpayers rush to meet filing deadlines. Experts warn that fake messages from the South African Revenue Service (SARS), investment offers, and tax documents are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from genuine ones.
This risk is heightened as the October 23rd deadline approaches. Scammers exploit the sense of urgency related to refunds, assessments, and outstanding tax liabilities, prompting people to act without verifying the message.
Anna Collard, Content Strategy Advisor and CISO at KnowBe4 Africa, and Chris Norton, General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Kaspersky, note that AI makes familiar scam schemes more convincing. SARS has also cautioned taxpayers against phishing and fraud attempts during the 2026 tax season.
A study conducted by KPMG in collaboration with the University of Melbourne showed that 62% of surveyed South Africans are willing to trust AI, which is higher than the global average of 46%. Furthermore, a KnowBe4 study revealed that 86% of respondents in South Africa agreed that deepfakes have become so realistic that it is harder to determine what to trust.
Collard emphasized that scammers no longer need to rely on obvious signs of deception, such as poor grammar, fake logos, or unnatural voices. She noted: 'People assume the threat is real and hard to detect. They just don't believe it concerns them. We accurately assess the risk, but we generously overestimate ourselves. We think bad things happen to other people. And generative AI has eliminated bad grammar, wrong logos, and stiff voices, leaving our confidence completely untouched.'
According to Collard, a professionally presented message or one supposedly from a familiar source cannot automatically be considered reliable. She added: 'Trust must be tied to the channel, not the content. A video of someone you know, a message in a familiar voice, a polished PDF—none of this is proof of anything anymore.'
Collard also warned against using AI-based chatbots for making important financial decisions. She advised: 'AI tools speak fluently, and we confuse fluency with expertise. Use these tools to understand concepts and formulate the best questions. Do not use them as your advisor.'
Kaspersky researchers identified phishing websites mimicking the SARS eFiling system, as well as malicious attachments named like 'Tax Returns Of RXX,XXX.XXX' and 'Final_Assessment_Notification-2026-0X-0X.pdf'. Chris Norton reported that fake emails often contain phrases such as 'Refund' and 'SARS Demand Letter' to convince recipients to open attachments or follow instructions.
Norton explained that by this point in the tax season, people are accustomed to receiving notifications about refunds, assessments, and taxes, so such an email may not immediately seem suspicious. 'That is what scammers rely on. The closer we get to the deadline, the easier it is to act quickly because you think you are dealing with something that requires your attention.'
SARS has also warned that scammers are using AI to create professional-looking email templates and fake refund notifications. The revenue service stated that it will never request passwords, one-time PINs, bank PINs, or eFiling login credentials via email, SMS, social media, or phone.
Norton urged taxpayers to be cautious about the information they provide to AI services when dealing with tax matters. He warned: 'AI can simplify working with complex information, but taxpayers must be careful about the information they provide to an external service. A tax return contains a detailed picture of a person's financial and personal life. Confidential records must remain outside public AI tools, and important tax information must be verified through reliable sources.'
As the deadline approaches, taxpayers are advised to directly access the SARS eFiling portal and other official digital channels to check assessments, refunds, and tax information, rather than clicking links in unexpected messages.
