While social media offers numerous benefits, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has reminded students that it is essential to remain vigilant and cautious when navigating online spaces as online scammers are known for taking advantage of vulnerable and unsuspecting students.
Online scammers are known to impersonate NSFAS officials, create fake websites, and employ various deceptive tactics to deceive students and steal their allowances.
In a recent tweet, NSFAS cautioned students:
Please note that NSFAS has been informed of a social media page called ‘Bhatala Agency’ run by a character named ‘Patricia McCarthy’. Please be warned that this page and everything under it is a SCAM intended at stealing students’ allowances!
Previously, the bursary scheme also warned students that the page is in no way affiliated with NSFAS or its payment partners. They added, “Students are cautioned from visiting or providing their personal information on the page.”
Since the implementation of the new NSFAS direct payment system a common tactic used by scammers is to create fake NSFAS service provider pages that mimic the official accounts or claim that they are affiliated with the NSFAS payment partners.
NSFAS has reminded students to never share their personal information or their myNSFAS login details with anyone.
Students are urged to only make use of the correct NSFAS website and the official NSFAS social media pages when requesting information.
How To Keep Your myNSFAS account Safe
- Always keep your username and password safe.
- Do not share any of your personal information.
- Always logout on your account when using your personal computer, laptop or internet cafes.
- Ensure to at least reset your password once a month. This will prevent fraudsters to having your resent credentials. Keep your new password safe.
- NSFAS officials will never call you and ask to share your passwords.
Fraudulent Websites
These fake pages and websites may use similar logos, branding, and even share seemingly legitimate information, making it difficult for students to discern the authenticity of the account.
NSFAS has since identified several malicious sites which mimics the official NSFAS portals, and have since advised students to be on the lookout for.
Five fraudulent sites to be on the lookout for:
- celbuxss.unaux.com
- mynsfasstudentportal.unaux.com
- mynsfasstudentportal.unaux.com
- mynsfasportals.000webhostapp.com
- mynsfasportal.epizy.com
NSFAS Fraud Hotline
In an attempt to combat and prevent future scammers from deceiving students, NSFAS created a dedicated fraud hotline, which is managed by an independent company, called Vuvuzela.
Students, stakeholders, and members of the public are encouraged to report any suspicious activity promptly on the fraud hotline using the details listed below:
- Toll free number: 0860 247 653
- SMS Call-back to 30916
- Fax: 086 726 1681
- Email address: [email protected]
- visit: www.thehotline.co.za
To find out more about the NSFAS bursary, applications and the latest changes, head to our NSFAS page.
