“Looks Like a Scam”: Man Allegedly Owed R340K From SARS, Message Leaves SA Curious

• A man on TikTok alleged that he was to receive more than R340 000 from the South African Revenue Service
• Although he was allegedly going to get money from the government, he also had to pay R1 000
• While some social media users raised eyebrows at the message the man supposedly received, others remained hopeful
• Two audit and accounting clerks informed Briefly News whether people's suspicions about the message were true or not

A man appeared to have a stroke of luck after he alleged that he was to receive a few hundreds of thousands of rands in his bank account from the government.

Using the handle @sphesihle_45 on TikTok, the app user took to his account to share the alleged message he received from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) after claiming to have dialled *134*7277#.

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A screenshot of the message read that the taxpayer had to pay R1 000 on his administrative penalty account. It also read the following:

"However, we owe you R341 322.47 on your tax account."

Have a look at the supposed message in the picture below:

Is the 'SARS' message a scam?

Two Cape Town-based audit and accounting clerks who did not wish to be named told Briefly News that the message was indeed a scam. One of the accounting professionals noted that the scammers were messing with innocent people.

"Requesting payment of the supposed admin penalty and then mentioning the refund due is a mind game to trick you into thinking that if you pay R100, you will get R340 000."

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The other accounting professional told the publication that they were not familiar with the *134*7277# feature, adding:

"You can have how big of a credit with SARS, and they will never mention it. They always only mention what you owe them."

Mzansi becomes hopeful and sceptical

@sphesihle_45's video attracted the attention of many local social media users. While some thought it was a case of fraud, others wanted to find out if they could also get a few more rands in their bank accounts.

Eager to get extra money for themselves, @mpho_mash29 humorously wrote in the comment section:

"I want to book a ticket to the Maldives."

@phiwe7951 had their doubts about the message received and shared what they thought it should have said:

"I don't know, it looks like a scam. Usually, SARS says, 'Amount due to you,' not, 'We owe you.'"

@thabi800 also felt that the message was too good to be true and warned the public with their opinion:

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"Guys, be careful with scam messages. Many people got them. How can they say 'pay' and then they will pay you afterwards?"

@nkululekosgananda added humour to the comments. It seemed they wanted a piece of the pie and comically said:

"Ndoda, you might not remember me, but we were best friends in primary school. In fact, I used to take care of you."

Woman stressed after learning she owes SARS

In a related article, Briefly News reported about a South African woman who was left with chest pains after discovering how much she owed SARS for tax.

A TikTok post by @ayokaliyanda showed part of a SARS financial statement, showing an owing balance of R14 734.48. The post included an audio which indicated the woman’s stress and despair.

Source: Briefly News