In light of a resurgence of some individuals misusing the Tertiary Education Trust Fund’s (TETFund) name, the board is warning the public against the activities of some faceless individuals that fraudulently invoke the Fund’s name to defraud students and members of the public.
Like many other organisations, TETFund has seen an increased use of sophisticated forms that appear to be legitimate in the eyes of a lay man. In some cases, the wrongdoers use fake sites to bolster the credibility of the scam.
Last year, a message circulating on Facebook and WhatsApp claims that TETFund is paying N30,000 to all of the country’s students. “This is part of the 2021 budget to support all Nigerian students. Registration Portal has been opened and Payment has begun,” the Whatsapp message reads.
The message links to a website where students can supposedly apply. The website’s landing page was an online form in which people were asked to enter their personal details such as name, address, phone number, email address, state of origin, date of birth and name of institution in order to apply.
Unfortunately, the thorough search of the TETFund website and social media accounts found no evidence of the N30,000 bursary. The Fund had posted a screenshot of the message on its Instagram page, stamped “SCAM ALERT,’ including a warning: “Our attention has been drawn to a fraudulent message currently circulating on Whatsapp platforms and Social Media.”
Recently, the…
