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, investment offers, and tax documents mimicking the South African Revenue Service (SARS) are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from genuine ones.
This situation is worsening as the October 23rd deadline approaches. Scammers exploit the urgency related to refunds, assessments, and outstanding tax liabilities to prompt 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 scamming methods more convincing. SARS has also cautioned taxpayers against fraud and phishing 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.'
According to her, generative AI has eliminated issues with grammar, incorrect logos, and monotonous speech while maintaining a high level of confidence. Collard advised taxpayers not to automatically trust a message that looks professional or supposedly comes from a familiar source. She added: 'Trust should 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 anymore.'
Collard also warned against using AI-based chatbots for making important financial decisions, cautioning that '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 consultant.'
Kaspersky researchers identified phishing websites designed to imitate the SARS eFiling portal, as well as malicious attachments named like 'Tax Returns Of RXX,XXX.XXX' and 'Final_Assessment_Notification-2026-0X-0X.pdf'. Chris Norton noted that fraudulent emails often use phrases such as 'Refund due' and 'SARS Letter of demand' to convince recipients to open attachments or follow instructions.
Norton explained that since people are accustomed to receiving notifications about refunds, assessments, and taxes, such a letter may not look suspicious immediately. This is what scammers count on: the closer the deadline, the easier it is to act quickly, assuming it is something requiring attention.
SARS has also issued a warning that scammers are using AI to create professionally looking email templates and fake refund notifications. The tax authority stated that it will never request passwords, one-time PINs, bank PINs, or login credentials for eFiling 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 advised: 'AI can simplify working with complex information, but taxpayers must be careful with the data they provide to an external service. A tax return contains a detailed picture of a person's financial and personal life. Confidential records should be kept outside public AI tools, and important tax information should be verified through reliable sources.'
As the deadline approaches, taxpayers are recommended to directly access the SARS eFiling and other official digital channels to check assessments, refunds, and tax information, instead of clicking links in unexpected messages.