Is that SARS link safe to click?
Paste any suspicious link from an SMS, email, or WhatsApp message. We'll check it against live threat databases and tell you if it's safe — before you click it.
How to spot a SARS scam
SARS never asks for banking details by SMS or WhatsApp
No legitimate SARS message will ask you to confirm a card number, PIN, OTP or online banking password. Any message that does is a scam, no matter how official it looks.
Official SARS links always come from sars.gov.za
Read the domain carefully, right to left. sars.gov.za.refunds-portal.com is not SARS. Lookalikes use hyphens, extra words and unusual endings to fool you at a glance.
Unsure about a refund or penalty? Log in directly
Never use the link in the message. Type efiling.sars.gov.za into your browser yourself and check your Statement of Account and Correspondence inbox.
Phishing campaigns spike during filing season, when millions of South Africans are expecting an assessment or a refund. Scammers copy SARS wording, logos and reference numbers almost perfectly — the domain is usually the only thing they cannot fake. When something feels urgent or threatening, that urgency is the scam. Take a minute, check the link, and confirm anything important by logging in to eFiling directly.