INEC Disowns Fake CVR Portal, Warns Nigerians of Phishing Scam

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chairman Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan

INEC Disowns Fake CVR Portal, Warns Nigerians of Phishing Scam

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disowned an online portal for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise currently circulating on social media platforms, describing it as a phishing scam designed to harvest the personal data of unsuspecting citizens. The Commission’s Deputy Director of Information and Publicity, Wilfred Ifogah, issued the warning in an interview in Abuja on Thursday, urging Nigerians to exercise caution and ignore the fraudulent message. The viral post, titled “INEC ONLINE VOTERS REGISTRATION 2026 ONGOING,” has been widely shared on WhatsApp and other digital platforms. It directs users to the fraudulent website https://linksnapro.com/cvrreg, falsely claiming that the registration deadline is August 17, 2026. The post also falsely states that the home addresses provided by applicants would be used to deliver their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

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Ifogah advised members of the public to disregard the message and avoid clicking on the link, warning that doing so could expose users to identity theft and cyber fraud. He emphasised that INEC does not use third-party blogging links or private URLs for official exercises, nor does it deliver PVCs to private residences. The only official and approved INEC portal for all voter registration activities, including updates, transfers, PVC replacement, and registration centre location, remains https://cvr.inecnigeria.org. Ifogah urged citizens to verify all electoral information through INEC’s official website inecnigeria.org or its verified social media handles.

The warning comes as the Commission recently extended the nationwide CVR exercise by two weeks and introduced a self-service online registration option for eligible first-time voters. The exercise, which began on August 18, 2025, was originally scheduled to end on July 10, 2026, but will now close on Friday, July 24, 2026. The new self-service portal, launched on July 8, 2026, allows eligible citizens to initiate and complete their voter registration, including biometric capture, using their personal devices without visiting an INEC office. This development is part of INEC’s broader efforts to leverage technology to enhance voter participation and make the registration process more accessible to Nigerians across the country.