Sanral has warned Gauteng road users not to fall for\u00a0hoax e-mails and messages claiming that money can be collected directly from the bank accounts of e-toll road\u00a0users by SARS.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat started off as an April Fools\u2019 joke has gained momentum and many people are now concerned that Sanral is illegally taking money from road users,\u201d said Sanral\u2019s communications head Vusi Mona.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to assure the public that Sanral acts strictly within the confines of the legislation pertaining to e-tolling,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are transparent in all our actions and communicate our real intentions through the media, and directly to the public, on a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hoax emails appear to be based on the April Fools article which\u00a0was published\u00a0by\u00a0BusinessTech<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on 1 April 2014.<\/p>\n The article\u00a0alleged that the SA Revenue Service had been allocated the powers to collect money directly from the bank accounts of road users who have not paid their e-toll accounts.<\/p>\n At the bottom of the online report is a link to a page which makes it quite clear that it is an April Fools\u2019 joke. By midday on 1 April, the article headline was also changed to reflect the nature of the content.<\/p>\n “It is regrettable that a serious tech website contributed to the spreading of disinformation under the guise of a joke,” Mona said.<\/p>\n \u201cMany people have read the report without following the link, and the original report is now also being spread through e-mails.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is still a degree of misunderstanding the e-tolling system and unfortunately such hoax reports and e-mails only add to the confusion among road users,\u201d says Mona.<\/p>\n Secret e-toll bill to take money from users\u2019 bank accounts [April Fools]<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n E-tolls enhance economic growth<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n E-tolls not only a middle class problem<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n E-tolls pushing consumers over the edge<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on e-tolls<\/h3>\n