Tag: cyberthreats

Tax Season Cyber Scams | Cyberthreats

Avoid SARS impersonators during filing season

Filing season for provisional taxpayers is officially underway, and SARS is making it easier than ever for individuals and businesses to comply by making a full range of tax submission options available online. But, like every process that uses web-based technology there’s always a risk of cybercrime and scams.

Recently, authorities have received reports of hackers and other cybercriminals misleading taxpayers. The most common scams seen to date seem to be by impersonating SARS, stealing sensitive financial information from members of the public, and even going so far as to file returns in the names of the victims and collect their tax rebates fraudulently.

In this article we take a look at some of the online crimes related to tax filing and how you can avoid becoming their next victim.

are you sure that message is really from SARS?

The tax authorities use a variety of communication methods, primarily email and text messages, to contact taxpayers and make the filing process easier.

Unfortunately, scammers have become extremely good at impersonating SARS – and that means you’ll have to be especially careful before you reply to a message that appears to come from the revenue service. Here are some pointers: 

  • Checking the email address isn’t enough. Some scammers have managed to create email addresses using the sars.gov.za domain, giving recipients the impression that the correspondence is 100% legitimate. To combat this, it’s essential to verify that the email you receive is actually from a SARS official.
  • Before you reply to a SARS email or take any other action, contact your nearest SARS office, and verify that the person who sent the email really works there.
  • You’ll want to be especially cautious if you receive an email that asks you to re-enter your personal details or bank account information since this data is already on the SARS system. It’s extremely unlikely that anyone would ask you to enter these details online – unless they’re a scammer.

what to do if you’ve been scammed

Sometimes even the most vigilant person can become a victim of cybercrime. If you suspect that you’ve been targeted by cybercriminals posing as SARS officials, you can contact the SARS Fraud and Anti-Corruption Hotline at 0800-00-2870 or email phishing@sars.gov.za.

keep your personal information safe with secure cloud storage

Cybercriminals are thinking up new ways of stealing personal and business data by the minute. Keep your financial and sensitive information safe this tax season and into the future by using encrypted online data storage. To learn more, see our range of secure cloud storage solutions today.

Are You Up to Date with the Latest Tech Buzzwords?

If you’re a business owner wearing many hats and with a lot on your mind, you’re possibly not entirely up to date with the lingo in your IT department. The problem is that risks and threats are on the rise in the business landscape, and it doesn’t really matter if you’re a medium or small business; cybercriminals see you as a prime target. You can probably rattle off  a list of the most recent cyberthreats, but are you familiar with the latest buzzwords?

5 latest tech buzzwords to know

Brushing up on the latest tech buzzwords is one way to get familiar with what people are talking about in the industry, and we’re here to help. Below are a few of the buzzwords we think that all businesses owners in South Africa should know.

1. Digital Transformation

Transformation seems to be happening everywhere in the world, the digital space included!

Digital transformation refers to enterprises adopting technology to improve their business processes. One example of digital transformation is using Zoom to connect with employees and clients; another is shifting from in-office storage to encrypted cloud backup for sensitive business data.

2. The Internet of Behaviours

It seems like only yesterday that we were familiarising ourselves with the Internet of Things (IoT), and now there’s an Internet of Behaviours (IoB) too.

Yes, you heard right. Data is used to make the IoB work, and this is where information on people is used to gain insight into consumer behaviours. With IoB, individual user actions are monitored (your mobile apps and internet browsers are probably monitoring you) to gather information on consumer profiles. An example of this in action is a mobile health app that monitors your sleeping patterns, exercise frequency, heart rate, and social behaviours – sound familiar?

3. Extended Reality

Extended reality (XR) draws on the best aspects of artificial reality and virtual reality for face-to-face interaction.

XR can be used to provide services, perform testing, and conduct experiments from a secure location anywhere in the world. An example of this in action is where optometrists can conduct eye exams virtually, without being in the same room as the patient.

4. 5G & Enhanced Connectivity

5G is faster and better connectivity to the internet which means seamless Netflix streaming, yes, but also better business services. Remember when uploading your encrypted data to the cloud would take a few hours? Now it can take just a few minutes.

5. As-a-Service

Ever seen the abbreviation SaaS? Well, that stands for Software as a Service and it’s making waves in today’s tech world. As-a-service is good for businesses as it provides all businesses with access to cloud-based and on-demand innovations by leveraging the likes of AI (artificial intelligence).

Big names that invest in and make use of As-a-Service include Amazon, Microsoft and Zoom.

we speak your tech buzzwords’ language

Now that you have a few of the tech industry buzzwords in your vocab, it’s time to start paying closer attention to what’s happening in your business’ IT or cybersecurity department. Learn to speak the language, or your business could fall behind the times!