What Is The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA)?
SASSA refers to the South African Social Security Agency, which is a government agency responsible for paying social grants to eligible individuals who are in need of financial assistance. They are responsible for the administration and payment of grants.
Sassa plays an important role in reducing poverty and inequality in South Africa by providing a safety net for vulnerable families and individual citizens. They ensure that the correct people are paid their social security benefit.
Be Careful With Your Social Grant
Social security recipients have been cautioned by Sassa about a misleading statement within a fake post that has been circulating on social media, via particular platforms such as Twitter. This is a Sassa scam circulating, and is considered fake news.
The message circulating on social media is claiming that Sassa is providing a R700 grant application form for people between the age of 18 and 35. The misleading message also claims that more than 650 000 people are due to receive this fake R700 grant.
Sassa warned and has confirmed that the circulating message is fake, is a Sassa scam and has strongly cautioned anyone who is a social security beneficiary to not share their personal information with scammers who falsely represent themselves as the Agency's representatives, via a fake post circulating.
Sassa warns clients that is not a secure way to communicate, as the post encourages people to apply for this "additional grant", promising money payments of R700.
Scammers find ways to trick you into giving out your personal details, Sassa warned.
The scammers request surrendering personal details, such as your contact details (phone number and/or email address), your bank account information, your South African ID number, etc., that they want you to insert by completing a false online application process.
Your personal details are valuable (especially your ID number), and if in the hands of scammers, could lead to applicants becoming a victim of fraud because of a fake advertisement/post.
Sassa communicates and will send alerts to Sassa recipients via SMS, however the same statement appears to have also surfaced in the form of an SMS, which was also flagged as false by Sassa.
The Agency issued a statement that warns clients:
Please be aware of the below fake news. SASSA does not offer such a grant. We urge our beneficiaries to protect their personal details. DO NOT share YOUR ID NUMBERS WITH strangers. Kindly ignore this fake information.
Grant recipients must always contact the Agency through official channels about the administration of their money. These official channels can include a Sassa office where you can speak to an official Sassa spokesperson in their Customer Care Unit.
Always stay vigilant and be careful of any fake post circulating online, as scammers routinely lurk on social media. There is no such thing as a R700 grant or a Sassa R700 grant application. Do not believe every post circulating on social media that you see.
Online Access To The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa)
You can find the official Sassa website by going to www.sassa.gov.za. Here, you will find information on the various Sassa grants that you might be looking for.
For the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant website, you can go to this link: https://srd.sassa.gov.za/. Here you will find more information on the SRD grant and how to apply for it. This is where you can also track your application status.
The SRD grant is also commonly referred to as the R350 grant, and was initially introduced as a temporary form of social assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic. There have been ongoing discussions about increasing the R350 grant, to provide recipients with more money for their basic needs.
The Role Of Sassa
Sassa operates under the oversight of the Department of Social Development, which is part of the South African government. The DSD is responsible for setting policies and regulations related to social assistance, as well as distributing the grants to approved citizens.
Working alongside the DSD is the Department of Home Affairs, who uses their database to verify any information submitted with grant application forms. Therefore, it is important to provide accurate and factually correct information, as Sassa and Home Affairs will make sure to verify.
Sassa also works closely with other government departments so that citizens who receive grants have access to a range of other services and support, such as healthcare, education and job training.
What are the other Sassa social grants available?
Currently, Sassa offers eight social grants in total, that are meant to assist people. These include the:
- Child Support grant
- Foster Care grant, for foster parents
- Disability grant
- War Veterans grant
- Care Dependency grant
- Grant-in-Aid
- Older Person's grant
- Social Relief of Distress (SRD/R350) grant
For most of these grants, you have to be over the age of 18 to apply and gain approval. You can submit an appeal if your grant application was rejected and you would like Sassa to reconsider their decision.
Apply for the R350 grant using Whatsapp number
You can also apply for the SRD/R350 grant via Whatsapp, if that is a more convenient or easy way to apply.
Here's how to submit your R350 application on WhatsApp:
- Add this Whatsapp number: 082 046 8553 as a contact on your phone
- Go onto WhatsApp and send a message saying 'hi' to this number
- You will then receive a response and you should then respond saying 'help'
- You will be given various options, reply saying '4'
- This will lead you to the Unathi Sassa platform message which you should reply 'SRD' to
- You then have to confirm whether you're applying for yourself or someone else
- Now the actual application begins and you'll have to submit your name, surname and ID number in the message.
- You will then receive a message on Whatsapp stating the next steps.
Be careful of any suspicious Whatsapp message circulating, as this is also another way for fake information and/or a fake post to spread.
Sassa SRD Grant Banking Details
If you need to change your Sassa banking details - including banking details for your SRD grant we have all the details for you. As the grant is re-approved every month you need to make sure that your banking details with Sassa are correct or your grant won't be paid. The bank account must be in your own name as grants can't be paid into someone else's account. You'll find all the details in our Sassa banking details FAQ. You can also view our video on how to check your Sassa grant status.
