The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has dissociated itself from a wave of deceptive and criminal messages being circulated to candidates registered for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
In a statement issued Wednesday in Abuja, JAMB’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, warned that suspected fraudsters are behind the scam, which aims to exploit and defraud unsuspecting candidates.
Benjamin explained that the perpetrators have manipulated the numerical variant of UTME, “8863,” in conjunction with JAMB’s official short code, “55019,” to fabricate a sort code resembling the Board’s legitimate messaging system.
According to him, these individuals have been sending misleading messages to candidates, falsely alleging manipulations in their JAMB records and instructing them to contact specific persons who would allegedly offer assistance in resolving the issues.
“We want to emphasise that these messages are not from JAMB. Security agencies have been notified and are actively tracking the perpetrators behind this scam,” Benjamin stated.
“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,” he added.
He urged the public to remain cautious and critically assess all messages received. “Any communication that does not align with JAMB’s official channels or uses suspicious language or instructions should be treated as fraudulent,” he said.
