How to Spot a Fake SASSA Website

Take the part of the address before the first single slash and read it from the right. The last two or three pieces name the real owner of the site. For the SRD portal that is srd.sassa.gov.za, with gov.za at the end.

• .gov.za ending, with sassa before it. This is SASSA.
• .co.za, .org.za, .com or .web.za. This isn't SASSA, whatever the page says. That includes sites whose names contain "sassa", "srd" or "gov".
• A trick with dots An address such as sassa.gov.za.something.com ends in .com, so it belongs to something.com.

Government-looking wording on a page proves nothing. Logos, a yellow colour scheme and the words "official portal" are all easy to copy.

Named fakes. The Department of Social Development and SASSA warned in February 2025 that srd-sassa.org.za and srdsassagov.co.za were fake sites used to collect data from unsuspecting applicants and steal their personal information. SAnews reported the warning, and gave SRD.sassa.gov.za as the authentic platform. You can read it in the SAnews report. The names show the pattern: "srd", "sassa" and "gov" stitched together, on a domain that isn't sassa.gov.za.

The look-alike pattern is common. A site can use "official" or "gov" language in its name and still be a private business. Some of these are information sites that carry a disclaimer, and some are scams. Both are unofficial, and neither should be given your ID number.

Other signs that sites and security groups report:

• a form asking for your ID number, cellphone number, PIN or banking details on a page that isn't srd.sassa.gov.za
• an offer of guaranteed approval, an extra grant or a "double payment"
• urgent language such as "act now" or "your grant is at risk"
• a link that reached you by SMS, WhatsApp or a social media post
• poor spelling, or an address that ends in .link, .click or .xyz

SASSA has warned about fake messages of the second kind. In May 2025 it said reports of a double grant payment in June were untrue, and that beneficiaries should verify anything against its official pages.

SASSA's booklet says it will never ask for your PIN, and never asks for your ID number, banking details or PIN on social media or unofficial websites. The government's service pages for the permanent grants say the application is free, and the older person's grant page adds that the service is free. So anyone demanding payment to apply for one, or to speed one up, isn't SASSA.

In a May 2025 statement SASSA listed its official social media accounts as Facebook (SASSA News), X (@OfficialSASSA), TikTok (@officialsassanews), WhatsApp (SASSA_Official), YouTube (South African Social Security Agency) and Instagram (sassa10_za).

Act on the same day.

1. Call your bank's fraud line and say you may have given your banking details to a scam site. Ask them to secure your account.
2. Change your PIN. Postbank says forgotten PINs are reset at a Post Office branch with your ID. Don't do it through a link.
3. Call SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 or email GrantEnquiries@sassa.gov.za, and report the fraud on 0800 701 701. SASSA says reports can be anonymous.
4. Check your status on the official portal, through the status checker, for anything that changed.
5. Report it to the police, and keep the address and any messages.

Grants Hub is independent, and doesn't ask for your ID number or banking details. The About page explains how it checks its facts, and the contact page lists the SASSA numbers we can trace to SASSA's own booklet.