Fake news has been spreading on university campuses and social media amid the delays in NSFAS appeals, accommodation issues, and funding concerns.
NSFAS Applicants and Students Need To Beware Of These Scams
Students anxiously awaiting funding decisions from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) are urged to be cautious of circulating fake news and scammers.
NSFAS rejected over 300 000 funding applications this year, and students who were rejected were encouraged to appeal within 30 days to allow the bursary scheme to make a final decision.
The application was rejected for a number of reasons, including the candidate not being eligible for funding, not meeting the necessary academic requirements, earning an annual household income exceeding R350 000, and not uploading the correct supporting documents.
Students have been left in limbo as NSFAS works through the backlog, resulting in many students losing their places at these institutions even though they were told they would receive funding decisions by 6 February 2023.
Social media has been flooded with fake news as students wait. “NSFAS ASSISTANT & ENQUIRIES” has been interacting with students pretending to be the official NSFAS Facebook page designed to assist students in withdrawing money from their accounts. To scam students, the page would ask for their NSFAS bank card login details.
This page is not affiliated with the bursary scheme and students should never share their banking information or MyNSFAS portal login details.
Furthermore, a man in the Cape Town area has allegedly been charging NSFAS applicants between R4 000 and R5 000 to complete and submit their applications.
In a statement released by NSFAS, they remind students
- NSFAS will never request that applicants pay a fee to submit an application or receive information pertaining to their application.
- Applicants should never share information with members of the public who claim to offer such services.
- Applicants should not make payments to individuals claiming to assist them with their applications.
To assist students with their applications, neither NSFAS nor their payment partners will ask for login information or transaction details.Report these requests to the relevant authorities immediately and treat them with extreme caution.
The SAPS has been informed of these criminal acts, and if you would like to report anything relating to this matter or any other matter of this nature, please contact the Grassy Park Detectives Fraud Division at (021) 700 3946.