The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has dismissed social media reports that hackers have accessed five thousand HELB student accounts.
In a statement on Monday, January 22, HELB urged students to ignore the fake reports and assured them that their funds are secure.
The board also advised university students not to rush to Huduma Centres to check their balances.
“Fake news alert! Disregard this false HELB message claiming a hack on batch numbers! Your funds are safe. No need to rush to Huduma Centres. Let’s verify any information before sharing,” HELB stated.
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The flagged social media post claimed that hackers accessed the five thousand student accounts and urged all those who received a message to visit Huduma Centres with their national identity cards.
“People! Around 5K held batches have been hacked,, if you received a message from surepay on weekend please visit the nearest huduma centre by tomorrow,” the fake post read in part.
FAKE NEWS ALERT! Disregard this false HELB message claiming a hack on batch numbers! Your funds are safe. No need to rush to Huduma Centres. Let’s verify any information before sharing. Follow our social media handles, Facebook @HELBPage or X @HELBPage #FakeNews #StayInformed pic.twitter.com/0VGvgieZzp
— OFFICIAL HELB PAGE (@HELBpage) January 22, 2024
The clarification comes days after the government disbursed Sh 14.4 billion for scholarships and loans to first year students in public universities.
Education CS Ezekiel Machogu in a statement outlined that Sh 10.39 will go to HELB while Sh3.98 billion would go to scholarships through the Universities Fund (UF).
