The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued a stark warning to candidates preparing for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), following the emergence of fraudulent messages designed to impersonate the Board’s official communications.
In a statement released by JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, Dr Fabian Benjamin, the Board disclosed that suspected fraudsters have devised a deceptive method by combining a numerical variant of UTME, 8863, with its official short code, 55019. This tactic has been used to craft a counterfeit sort code that closely resembles the Board’s legitimate messaging system.
“These messages are being disseminated by suspected fraudsters with the intent to defraud unsuspecting individuals,” the Board warned. “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.”
JAMB made it clear that it has no affiliation with such messages and urged candidates to disregard any communication not issued through verified platforms. According to the Board, security agencies have already been alerted and are actively working to identify and apprehend those behind the scam.
“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,” JAMB stressed.
The public has also been advised to stay alert and verify any suspicious communication through JAMB’s official channels to avoid falling victim to similar scams.
This development comes amid wider efforts by JAMB to combat examination malpractice and certificate fraud. Recently, the Board unveiled decoy websites to entrap individuals attempting to gain unfair advantages. These fake platforms, which imitate those operated by criminals, led to the exposure of at least 180 candidates who had paid amounts starting from N30,000 for leaked examination papers and falsified results.
Additionally, in the early months of 2025, JAMB uncovered a staggering 585 forged A/Level certificates submitted for tertiary admissions. This figure included 13 falsified Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) results, with four suspects already in custody and cooperating with ongoing police investigations.
In response, JAMB has intensified the use of its Nigeria Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (NIPED), a centralised digital platform created to verify academic credentials and combat certificate forgery. Through this system, the Board aims to strengthen transparency and integrity across Nigeria’s tertiary education admissions process.