IN SHORT: A scam spreading on South African social media targets prospective university students who have been rejected or are waiting for an admission decision. The circulating documents may look official, but universities have confirmed that they are fake.
Several letters posing as official communication from some of South Africa's universities have been circulating on social media since July 2024.
A letter allegedly from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) was posted several times by the same account in a Facebook student group with over 95,000 members. Other accounts also posted it to popular groups with at least 100,000 members. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
Similar posts targeting applicants to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) appear to have been deleted. However, several users have posted screenshots of the letters, warning students that they are a scam.
The documents are targeted at applicants who are waiting for an admission decision or who have been rejected for various reasons. They instruct applicants to contact a university "administrator" via WhatsApp. Upon payment of a fee (R500 or R700), the letters guarantee "100% successful admission" to the university.
But can these letters be trusted? We checked.
Multiple clues to spot the scam
In early 2024, warnings about similar messages masquerading as official communications from South African universities appeared on social media.
In July, a post on an official TUT X account (formerly Twitter) warned that an almost identical version was being circulated to prospective students, with the same phone number and spelling mistakes.
The official CPUT X account also cautioned users about the scam, clarifying that they "do not have a WhatsApp number".
Apart from the warnings, there are a few signs that these documents are not genuine. As with many other scams, one giveaway is the poor language use. There are misspelt words, unusual phrasing, and ellipses and capital letters used incorrectly.
The letters were also not posted by official sources such as the university's own social media accounts. Sometimes they came from suspicious accounts that posted the same content multiple times.
In addition, the letters directly request payment from students and state that payment will guarantee the student's place on the course. This is a big red flag. Universities may charge an application fee, but this does not guarantee you a place. Also, these letters are addressed to people who have already applied.
After the request for payment, the documents include a sentence clarifying that the fee can be paid after the student has received an acceptance letter. This may be an attempt to minimise any doubt that the process is legitimate.
But in the context of all the other clues, there is still plenty of reason to question the authenticity of these documents.
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If you have a feeling that such a communication may not be legitimate, check the source first. In this case, not only did the letters not come from the university's official channels, they had been debunked by them.
As a general rule, if someone asks you for money or personal information, or asks you to visit an unknown website or download an unknown file, these are all signals to pause and verify the information. Here you can contact the university to check, making sure you use the phone number or email address listed on their website.
For more tips on how to stay safe, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.
More posts making the claim can be found here, here, here, here and here.
