The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued a warning to candidates preparing for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) over the circulation of fraudulent messages designed to deceive and extort unsuspecting individuals.
In a statement on Wednesday, JAMB spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, revealed that scammers have devised a scheme using a fake sort code—created by combining the UTME’s numerical variant, 8863, with JAMB’s official short code, 55019—to impersonate the Board’s messaging platform.
“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,” Benjamin said.
He stressed that the messages did not originate from JAMB and warned that they were part of a broader effort by fraudsters to take advantage of the examination season.
“Security agencies have been notified and are actively tracking the perpetrators behind this scam,” he added.
JAMB urged candidates to disregard such messages, describing them as a common tactic used by criminals who prey on candidates’ anxiety during exam periods. The Board also reminded the public to remain cautious and verify all information through official JAMB communication channels.
“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,” Benjamin advised.
JAMB reiterated its commitment to ensuring the integrity of the examination process and protecting candidates from exploitation, while promising to continue working closely with security agencies to identify and prosecute those behind such scams.
