Scammers on social media platforms are targeting college students with offers of pretend GCSE and A-level exam papers, charging them hundreds of kilos. One pupil acknowledged that the concept of papers being available for sale has turn into a major matter of dialogue throughout examination season. Cancel anytime have confirmed that it’s highly uncommon for real papers to be leaked, however these scams have gotten increasingly frequent, with fraudsters demanding between £7.50 and £4,000 per paper.
Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat have all stated that such fraudulent actions are towards their policies and urged users to report any suspicious accounts. Exam regulator Ofqual has warned that college students caught dishonest may face a ban from taking their exams. One 15-year-old student, who chose to remain anonymous, shared her experience of encountering accounts claiming to promote GCSE examination papers on TikTok and being directed to contact the seller on Instagram.
She mentioned, “Anywhere north of £500 for a paper was the everyday supply from multiple accounts for one examination paper.” Although she didn’t purchase the examination paper, she is conscious of college students who have paid as a lot as £900. Another scholar reported paying £60 to a social media account for a GCSE maths exam last year, solely to be blocked by the account and receive nothing in return.
These scams are significantly concerning this 12 months, as there may be less help for students sitting exams in England in 2023 compared to other yr teams because the pandemic. The scammers are exploiting the desperation of scholars who’re seeking assist.
BBC News performed an investigation, posing as a GCSE student and contacting two separate Instagram accounts claiming to promote examination papers. The accounts quoted costs starting from £120 to £150 for single exam papers and requested payment through the Cash App. After the payment was made, the scammers ignored the messages and did not ship any papers. One of the scammer’s social media accounts was deleted earlier than BBC News may report it to Instagram.
A spokesperson for Meta, the father or mother firm of Instagram, stated that the sale of future examination papers or reply sheets isn’t allowed, and any such content material will be removed from the platform. AQA case analyst Bill Hewison said that many scammers use doctored photographs of previous exams, altering the date and textual content on the entrance cover to deceive students.
Exam board AQA granted BBC News unique access to its malpractice teams, who work to shut down fraudulent accounts. The teams search social media platforms for anybody claiming to sell papers to college students before and in the course of the exam season. As examination boards wouldn’t have the authority to close these accounts, they report them to the social media platforms, often citing copyright infringement as a cause for the criticism.
TikTok and Snapchat have each said that they remove accounts selling fraud or scams, and encourage customers to report any suspicious exercise. The Joint Council for Qualifications’ chief executive, Margaret Farragher, described the situation as “digital whack-a-mole,” with new pretend accounts showing as soon as others are closed down..