The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has denied rumors that unapproved users are contacting students directly through the university’s site, showing their academic standing and requesting money to finish unfinished business.

Ibrahim Sheme, NOUN’s Director of Media and Publicity, said in a statement released on Wednesday that the institution categorically denied the allegations and reaffirmed that its portal is still safe.

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has taken notice of a story that has been circulating that claims some individuals have been contacting students directly through the university’s portal, informing them of their current status and asking for funds to pay for their unfinished carryover courses. Managers were provided a screenshot of a chat that appeared to be between one of the impacted students and the university.

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The administration would like to notify all NOUN students and the public at large that it is not aware of any portal hacking and has not requested payment from any of its students in order to settle any unfinished carryover coursework. It is our belief that the aforementioned request was fraudulent and the product of dishonest individuals who were anxious to swindle gullible university students.

To the best of our knowledge, our site has not been compromised, and we have taken significant precautions to keep it safe.

The request should be disregarded by NOUN students. Anyone who receives such a request ought to notify their study center so that the source of the false information can be dealt with appropriately.