The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has raised the alarm over a wave of fake and deceptive messages being circulated to candidates who registered for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
In a statement released Wednesday in Abuja, JAMB’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, warned that these messages are not only false and misleading, but part of a calculated scam designed by fraudsters to exploit innocent students.
According to Benjamin, the scammers are sending out messages using a phony code — a mix of JAMB’s official code ‘55019’ and the exam reference ‘8863’ — in a deliberate attempt to mimic the Board’s SMS system and appear legitimate.
“These fraudsters are targeting candidates with messages that claim there have been manipulations or issues with their JAMB details. They then urge the candidates to contact certain individuals for ‘assistance’ — which, of course, is just a trick to defraud them,” he said.
JAMB emphasized that it has not sent out any such messages and that all official communication will only come through verified JAMB channels.
The Board has already alerted law enforcement agencies, who are now working to trace and apprehend those behind the scam.
“We’re urging candidates and the general public to be extremely cautious,” Benjamin added. “If a message looks suspicious, sounds alarming, or doesn’t come from an official JAMB source — ignore it. These scams are designed to prey on fear and confusion, especially during exam season.”
JAMB further advised candidates to rely only on verified updates from the Board’s website and official communication lines to avoid falling victim to fraud.
