A fake Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) website has been created by scammers to defraud Nigerians.
The authentic website of NIS is www.immigration.gov.ng but the fake website is hosted as http://ngimmigration.org.ng. This fake website is now conducting a sham recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Immigration Service. The deadline for application is indicated as Thursday, March 31, 2016.
Applicants are asked to create an account on the fake recruitment portal, complete an application form and pay a processing fee of one thousand Naira (₦1,000) each.
The scammers behind this fake website also want their victims to return to the website from April 29, 2016, to check their names from the list of shortlisted candidates.
Payment is done with the use of electronic cards (Verve, Visa, and Mastercard), and interested applicants have been advised to activate their cards at any automated teller machine (ATM) before making payment on the fake portal. The scammers also provide information on how to activate ATM cards for online payment on their fake website.
An investigation by Consumer Life has shown that all the applicants will eventually be shortlisted and then asked to pay a much larger sum for them to land their dream job.
There are concerns that if the nefarious activities of these fraudsters are not checked, they will ruin many families financially and also dent the image of NIS.
The efforts by our reporter to speak with owners of the fake website through the mobile telephone number – +234-8158868322 – provided on their website was unsuccessful as the phone was switched off.
The spokesman of NIS, Ekpedeme King, a Deputy Comptroller, could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone was also switched off when our reporter called.
Consumer Life Nigeria will provide the official response of NIS as soon as it is received.
UPDATE: March 24, 2016
The fake website has been taken down today, March 24, 2016.
Please report any suspected fake website to consumerlife.com.ng and we would embark on an effective campaign to get it down.
