Juliet Buna
An online medium had shared a link claiming to be the application form for TETFund 2024/2025 recruitment, which went viral on social media platforms.
Aside from the link, there is another social media which went viral that highlighted salary ranges for those who emerged successful with the same link urging them to apply for the job.
The link has been shared across social media platforms to thousands of people. But is the link provided in the posts legit? We checked.
VERIFICATION
Upon investigation by N-VA, it was discovered that the link provided in the posts led to a website that required users to fill in personal details such as name, gender, email, institutions attended, and state of origin.
The fact-checker followed through and filled in the required details. But, the website further asked for information on the course of study and educational status synonymous with a genuine application process.
At the start of the application after clicking on the link, the homepage reads: “Welcome Here Registration Is Ongoing.Your Application for the ongoing TETFUND RECRUITMENT 2024/2025 Is now on process, Kindly Validate Your Name to proceed to the next step. Note!!! The Number Of Applicants is limited.”
One particular page on the application form featured a Facebook post-like layout with a significant number of likes, shares, and comments from users who claimed their applications had been approved. Upon closer examination, it was noticed that the comment section on the page kept increasing by the minute, with no means to access the comments except for a few seemingly permanent comments.This page featured over 202,000 likes, more than 48,000 shares and 58,000comments, mostly from users claiming their applications had been approved.
The final page of the form congratulated the applicant for being selected and instructed them to share the link with five groups or 15 friends on WhatsApp. “Congratulations,as your course study is Mass Communication . You are among few people selected by *TETFUND* to benefit from this job Opportunity. Short-listed Applicants will be contacted shortly, Stay in Touch. 1. Share it with 5 groups or 15 friends on WhatsApp (Click on the “SHARE” icon below). 2. You will be redirected automatically to our “APPOITMENT FORM” page after the GREEN verification bar is filled. 3. You will receive a confirmation Email/SMS Within 3DAYS After Successful Application.”
The website which looked exactly like a phishing website allowed applicants to proceed without sharing the link, which raised doubts about the legitimacy of the recruitment process.
Also, the content of the website is filled with incorrect spelling of specific words, such as “APPOITMENT” instead of “APPOINTMENT,” and “AMOUNG” instead of “AMONG.”
To further verify the authenticity of the recruitment, N-VA checked through TETFund official social media handle and discovered that the agency had explicitly debunked any recruitment form on November 21, 2023, referring to it as a scam. Though the link on the debunked recruitment is not similar to the one that went viral now but when the fact-checker visited the link debunked by TETFund, the homepage is similar to the one that just went viral.
CONCLUSION
The claim that TETFund’s recruitment portal for the 2024/2025 recruitment has been opened is FALSE. Last year, TETFund warned the public about the circulating scam and urged individuals not to provide their personal details or engage with the fraudulent website which it debunked and that same website has a similar homepage with the one that just went viral.