The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has issued a cautionary notice to its students, urging vigilance against deceptive solicitations from individuals falsely purporting to represent the institution. This advisory comes in response to recent incidents where unauthorized individuals or entities have been contacting students via messages, emails, and phone calls.
According to IGNOU, these unscrupulous actors are soliciting payments for various services such as examination fees, duplicate grade cards and degrees, transcripts, certificate verification, project and practical fees, revaluation, and photocopies of answer sheets. The university stresses that it has not authorized any individual or agency to collect payments on its behalf.
Students are advised to make payments exclusively through IGNOU's official website, ignou.ac.in, and to utilize the designated payment links provided on the site for admission, re-registration fees, and other transactions.
Moreover, IGNOU emphasizes that official communications regarding admission, re-registration, and related matters are only sent from the university headquarters (HQ) and regional centers (RCs). These communications use email IDs ending with @ignou.ac.in, @samarth.ac.in, or @samarth.edu.in.
The university urges learners to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate legal action. Emails received from non-official email IDs, particularly those soliciting payments, should be treated as fraudulent and reported to the police. IGNOU disclaims responsibility for payments made through fraudulent payment links or websites.
