Lagos — Many Nigerian colleges do not take internet/social media presence seriously. This neglect is a loophole scammers exploit on popular platforms like Facebook, X, Google, and other search engines. Faceless people take advantage of naive admission seekers by posing as ‘admission agents’ of their preferred institutions to trick aspirants into paying application fees typically N10,000 to N30,000 or even sharing sensitive information. This happens because some colleges have little to no online visibility.
How Scammers Exploit This Loophole
Work and School Africa identified colleges’ lack of internet presence as the driver of admission scams. While some colleges may have websites, some may contain outdated information. You may also find a college’s website, but its contact page is 404 (not found). Sometimes the entire site is under construction for weeks in the middle of active admission. As a result, students looking for information, such as admission applications, deadlines and fees become vulnerable. Their natural response is to search elsewhere for answers, which is where scammers seize the opportunity.
Scammers use many tactics to deceive prospective students, two of which are common— (1) creating fake pages or websites in the name of the institution – they make the page or website appear legitimate by using the school’s logo and similar content. (2) Providing fake details – They include phone numbers and bank details that have nothing to do with the actual institution, and even attach ‘Dr.’ or ‘Prof.’ to their names.
The scammers also publish announcements about application forms and payment processes to lure unsuspecting students into making payments into bank accounts not authorised by the schools.
We have even seen admission banners designed to look exactly like what the average college would publish, but the phone numbers are those of the scammers. Naturally, aspirants are inclined to phone these numbers for more information. The scammers answer the calls, request the student’s information on WhatsApp or email, and return to them with “Congratulations! You have been given admission into so and so College.” The happy prospect quickly makes the payment and visits the school, only to be informed that they have been scammed.
The Damage and a Practical Fix
The damage is that BOTH the aspirant and the college lose money to scammers.
The fix?
- Colleges should set up dedicated departments to handle both social media and websites, and should not downplay the importance of the department.
- The tech department should publish frequent disclaimers and bust fake admission advertisements.
To The Aspirants, make sure you only engage with preferred college’s official website. If a college has no website, visit the school premise/CBT centre in person. Do not engage with admission agents as most colleges have no agents acting on their behalf.
