Students at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Yaba, Lagos, have raised the alarm over activities of suspected scammers on campus. DAVID ORJI and AFAMEFUNE AMAZIN GRACE(YABATECH) report.
Students at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Yaba, Lagos, are distraught following activities of suspected fraudsters on campus.
Investigation shows that this happens at the beginning and end of every first semester on campus.
Some students reported how they lost substantial amounts, while others recounted attempts at being scammed.
Parents whose wards have encountered the fraudsters have been left with a bitter taste in their mouths – either over losing money or the notion that the school is a dangerous breeding ground for their children.
According to affected students, the scammers use manipulative tactics like creating a false sense of urgency, which makes them vulnerable and prevents them from seeking confirmation from proper authorities.
Investigation also shows that the victims are contacted through online platforms, and phone calls claiming to be important officials in their department or college.
Our experience, by students
An ND 2 student, Adetola James, said: “A man contacted me and stated that I failed a course. He specified the course and my entire name and matric number. He said he was in charge of marking our examination scripts.
“Then he said I should pay a lot of money to assist me with my results. But when I informed him I didn’t have any, he cancelled the call, then I contacted him again, and he said I should pay N30,000. I informed him I didn’t have the money he requested, so he stated I should pay whatever I had with me.
“I paid him N20,000, and the next day he called and said the money wasn’t enough, so I sent him another N20,000. After a week, he called and said he had finished everything and promised me that I wouldn’t have a carry over, so I paid him another N10,000 to appreciate him and also did an airtime of N5,000 for him.
“It was afterwards that I realised it was a scam, so I used Truecaller to validate his identity and it showed Mr. Daniel.
“He is still out there, and his number is still getting through, and he is still contacting other students about the same issue, even though he has blocked me since he has my number with him, and if I call him with another number, he will block me once he recognises my voice.”
Another student, Ganiyu Jamiu, said: “I was in class when my mother called me, and I picked up the phone, and she asked if I was supposed to pay for anything, and I said yes that I hadn’t paid for school and some other registration fees.
“She told me that someone contacted her before she called me and demanded N25,000.
“I asked whether she had paid, and she replied she had transferred the money. I informed her it was a fraud, and I told her I was on my way home.
“When I got home, she showed me the person’s phone number and said she had been trying to reach him but he was not answering and the phone did not ring again.
“I took her phone, saved the number and checked it on Truecaller, and discovered that this individual is also using it for Whatsapp.”
An evidence obtained revealed a phone conversation between a certain Mr. Temidayo (fraudster) and Mrs. Adeniji Abosede Monsurat, mother to Adeniji Habeebat Adedayo (student).
In their conversation, Temidayo demanded N26,500 from Habeebat’s mother as payment for her departmental fee. He instructed her to pay the money to him instead of paying online.
Temidayo sounded credible. Habeebat’s mother, however, did not fall prey to his trap. She reprimanded him and refused to pay the amount.
The name Temidayo has also been identified by other students who have been targeted by scammers.
Habeebat gave the fraudster’s number. Other targeted freshers also confirmed the number belonged to Temidayo.
According to another victim who simply identified herself as Boluwatife, an ND 1 full-time student, one of the scammers called her father to demand money.
“One of them called my dad claiming that I needed to pay for something. He wasn’t specific, but the amount he demanded was about N20,000.
“My dad called me first to seek confirmation and I denied the man’s claim because if I was to pay for anything, that must be an acceptance fee,” she said.
Boluwatife’s father had to call the man telling him his daughter only had acceptance fee to pay and the fraudster responded that he would call back, but he never did.
A fresher identified as Kehinde revealed how she was duped through an online platform.
She said: “It was a student that scammed me. I did not know anything about the school’s registration process so I went on Facebook and searched about YABATECH.
I found the guy’s information and I chatted him up on WhatsApp.
“He added me to his group and told me to pay N8000 so he would register for me and I paid. He told me that he would send my information to me the next day.
“I didn’t hear anything from him for the next three days so I sent him a message on WhatsApp. He wasn’t online and that was when I knew I had been duped.
“I called him with my mom’s phone and he recognised my voice. He promised to call me back, but he blocked the number instead. I called him with different numbers after that, but he blocked them all. I went on another Facebook group, asking for help and anyone who knew the guy’s identity.
“The Admin helped me out. He recognised the guy as an outgoing ND 2 student and used his influence to make him return my money.”
The scammers target freshmen because of their limited knowledge of the university environment and registration procedures.
Surprisingly, the fraudsters possess knowledge of their school-related information i.e matric number, department, courses offered.
Another student, Darasimi said: “A man called my mum and said he was the HOD of Mass Communication Department. He said I have not paid for something called ‘Lumec’. He did not tell my mum his name, he just said he was the HOD of my department. He also told my mum that I haven’t paid for departmental fee, which I know I have paid for.
“He asked my mum to pay a sum of N6,500 for the departmental fee.”
Dean of Student Affairs wades in
Dean of Student Affairs Balogun Rasheed said he was disappointed that students would be deceived by scammers on campus. He expressed concerns about students’ susceptibility.
“It’s very disappointing that anyone would call you in this day and age, when you know the organisation, your departments, and the various organs in this place. Why should you let someone deceive you? Will you not inquire as to who you are speaking with? Are you even supposed to listen to the person? You aren’t since it isn’t specific to this location.
“We live in a deceptive age, where you receive anonymous phone calls on a daily basis. Anyone attempting to swindle you is not restricted to this location,” he said.
He warned students on receiving calls that do not appear to be authentic. To prevent falling victim to such schemes, he advised students to empower themselves with information from reliable sources.
“There are steps you must take in order to register. Go to the registry if anything is confusing to you. If it is about housing or general student affairs, contact the Dean of Student Affairs. I will always lend a sympathetic ear.
“Fraudsters promise a lot in terms of accommodation, such as giving students preferred rooms or changing their rooms for them.
“I am the one who changes rooms, and I only do so for medical reasons, such as asthma.
“Before doing so, I’ll ask you for a medical report from a general hospital and forward it to the medical centre for confirmation. I’ll alter the room once it’s confirmed.
“I do this because I don’t want people to believe that you can only get what you want in the college if you know people. You don’t have to know anyone to obtain the best. Whatever you’re given is yours,” he said.
He also stated that if a student was targeted or conned by any person or café on campus, he would follow them to the cafe to guarantee they get their money back.
‘Students should be
sensitised’
Dr. Olunike Asekere, part-time coordinator, Mass Communication, believes that being informed as freshers would prevent students from becoming victims.
She noted: “Ninety-five per cent of students go to cyber cafe to do their school registration. Although not all may be involved, it could be the cafe people that are exploiting the students.
“If someone calls that you need to pay for this, you know some students will believe that it is the truth because when those people call you, they have all your information.’’
Asekere continued: “Students need to know that nobody is privy to their results except their lecturers. So, it is impossible for anybody, even the class adviser, to tamper with it. Even if I am the class adviser of any class, I’m not privy to their results.
“This is because when you are through with your results as a course lecturer, you are to upload them. Thus, no one can just go and adjust the results.”
On ways to reduce the vulnerability of students, she urged class advisers to educate their students on registration procedures. She also suggested that the school orientation be done at an earlier time to ensure that students knew what to do, how, and when to do it.
Asekere instructed students to, as much as possible, make payments physically and directly to appropriate bodies. She advised them to avoid following second parties unless necessary.
“You want to pay. You see the people. Even the departmental fee, you can go to a bank and pay. After that, you will be given a receipt.
“You want to pay for the press jacket, you will, at least, see me face to face. Anybody you do not see face to face, do not pay. I announced on the platform, they even saw me. So, they know who is talking and they can identify me with the department.
“If you cannot identify the person with the department, don’t pay. Why should you pay?”
“Students should also be sure to familiarise themselves with the important faces involved in their school registration processes,” Asekere said.
She urged students to be wary of where they process their school registration to avoid putting important information in wrong hands.
However, Mr Boye Osinuga, a lecturer in Mass Communication Department, attempted to proffer solutions to this issue.
He suggested the use of OTP(One Time Password) on the school portal to prevent outsiders from logging into students’ portals without their knowledge.
“I believe it is because these people who call students, have access to their information. So, that’s why we need to block them. We need codes,” he said.
We alerted students,says SUG
President of the Student Union Government, Temitope Majero revealed that the SUG was aware of the scammers’ actions.
He stated that the union released a disclaimer at the start of his tenure to alert students.
“Yes, we are aware of that.
“There are also some precautionary measures in place right now.
“I believe the first year I heard it, someone was texting them to pay departmental dues, faculty dues, and acceptance fees.
“We issued a memo stating that the school would never ask you to pay any dues using an external number or factor.
“And I believe the issue is simply the orientation of many students.” Those who are genuinely victims are the “freshers,” so to speak.
“So we were able to help a little with that by sending out that memo that under no circumstances would the school send you an external number to pay any dues.
“Because, as you can see from the structure, all of the dues and fees are paid online,” he said.
He advised students to pay their tuition and other educational costs online or through their bank.
“I usually pay my school fees online myself, but because I’m so busy right now, I use Cyber cafe.
“The last time I used a cafe was in my ND, and I believe it was because I also worked part-time.
“You can simply go to the Remita and use your debit card, or you can go to the bank, generate the Remita, and then go back to the bank.
“The same issue occurred at Epe campus, so when the issue arose, we made sure that the police were also aware.
“Inform the parents of those freshmen, because I believe many of them are funded by their parents.
“They should never just, you know, react to anything they see online or via text.
“They should make certain that their wards attend the school to confirm.
“And I can tell you categorically that among the majority of our cafe guys, I don’t think there are many of them who can actually take away the student money.
“However, the bank is the most convenient place to go when we have to pay a fee.
“You can simply walk down there. They will walk you through the process of paying your school fees with minimal expenses.
“As I previously stated, I will generate my own payment advice. All payments can be made online or through a bank.”
Majero said orientation should be done early to enable students familiarise with college rules which would prevent them from being defrauded.
He advised students to remain careful and always seek confirmation before making any transfers or payments for whatever purpose.