The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has advised candidates to beware of misleading and criminal messages being disseminated by suspected fraudsters with the intent to defraud unsuspecting individuals.
Spokesperson of JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin in a statement on Wednesday, warned that the false messages were targeting candidates registered who for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
He said: “The perpetrators have exploited the numerical variant of UTME, 8863, and merged it with the Board’s sort code, 55019, to create a deceptive sort code that mimics JAMB’s official messaging system.
“Through this fraudulent scheme, they have been sending misleading messages to candidates, falsely claiming to detect manipulations in their JAMB details and urging them to contact certain individuals who will assist in resolving these fabricated issues.
“We want to emphasize that these messages are not from JAMB. Security agencies have been notified and are actively tracking the perpetrators behind this scam.
“Candidates are strongly advised to ignore such messages. This is a common tactic employed by fraudsters who seek to exploit the examination period to deceive and defraud innocent candidates.
“The public is urged to remain vigilant and critically assess the messages they receive. Any communication that does not align with JAMB’s official channels or uses suspicious language or instructions should be treated as fraudulent.”
Meanwhile, JAMB has said candidates sitting for this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), were not restricted to taking the examination only within the state’s where they registered.
Dr. Fabian noted that the clarification had become necessary to clarify the inaccurate report that candidates could not sit for the examinations outside their states of registration.
“The Public Communication Advisor of JAMB wishes to address a misleading publication regarding the UTME examination, which inaccurately claims that candidates cannot sit for the examination outside their state of registration. This information, widely disseminated by NAN, is incorrect.
*In a recent interview with a NAN reporter, I clarified that candidates are not restricted to taking the examination within their state of registration. They have the flexibility to register anywhere in the country and select any town nationwide from any registration point. Computer-Based Test Centres are clustered according to towns for convenience, allowing candidates to choose the town where they wish to take the examination. For example, if a candidate selects Garki as their examination town, they must take the exam in a centre within the town and cannot be posted outside the town as been alleged at times.
“It is crucial to rectify this misunderstanding to prevent confusion among candidates. Those who have registered for the UTME and selected examination towns outside their state of registration are indeed permitted to sit for the examination in their chosen towns.
“Candidates have the freedom to select their examination town from any location across the country, regardless of their state of registration. For instance, a candidate can register in Lagos and opt to take the examination in Sokoto or any other location.
*This flexibility is designed to accommodate candidates’ preferences and ensure they can choose a location that is convenient for them.
We urge the public to disregard the erroneous report from NAN in its entirety.”
