The U.S. Embassy in Abuja and the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos hosted pre-departure orientations for these students, as stated in a statement released by the mission on Monday.

EducationUSA is a global network of more than 430 international student advising centers supported by the U.S. Department of State.

These centers offer valuable information and guidance on the higher education admissions process in the United States.

During the send-off ceremonies, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Rolf Olson, Counselor for Public Affairs Adnan Siddiqi, and Lagos Public Affairs Officer Joseph Kruzich congratulated the students and expressed their well-wishes for their upcoming educational journey.

A statement on its website said the scammers use the EducationUSA name to extract payment for placement into Ivy League colleges through the “EducationUSA Ivy League Programme.”

The US Mission said the EducationUSA services are free to aspire, students, adding that no one should pay money to anyone asking for fees

The statement read, “The US Mission to Nigeria warns the Nigerian public about scammers using the EducationUSA name to extract payment for placement into Ivy League colleges through the “EducationUSA Ivy League Programme.” All these messages are FAKE! The US Mission to Nigeria draws the general public’s attention to fake targeted electronic emails and social media claiming to facilitate admission/placement to a non-existent Ivy League Programme. Fraudsters begin by soliciting membership fees and then seek to increase the contact. To be clear, EducationUSA services are free to aspire students. Do not pay money to anyone asking for fees. The US Embassy in Abuja and Consulate in Lagos warn Nigerians not to fall victim to this scam.”

The mission is a statement issued on its Twitter page on Friday, June 18, urged members of the public to disregard messages from such websites.

The message circulating on Whatsapp reads, “Take the chance of living in the USA and apply for the official US Green Card Lottery.

“The Green Card unlocks the door to the United States for thousands of USA fans every year. It allows the lucky Green Card winners permanent residence as well as an unlimited work permit for the USA. Every year, the United States grants 55,000 Green Cards through the Green Card Lottery! The US Mission to Nigeria is aware of websites and messages advertising the U.S. visa lottery. All of these sites are FAKE!” Addresses that have a .gov are the only accurate source of visa information,”

The warning was issued on Friday via the US Mission verified Twitter account.

The tweet read: “The US Mission to Nigeria is aware of websites and messages advertising the U.S. visa lottery. All of these sites are FAKE!

“Addresses that have a .gov are the only accurate source of visa information.”

The US Mission, however stated that information on the visa lottery can only be found on websites it shared on Twitter page.