Social media sites urged to stop A-level and GCSE fraudsters

Legend, Shreya saw scam accounts on Instagram claiming to sell GCSE papers

Author, Christian Johnson
Role, Educational journalist
1 hour ago

Social media companies must do more to “stop” scammers selling fake GCSE and A-level papers to students, exam boards say.

TikTok and Instagram have said they do not allow exam papers to be sold on their platforms.

But BBC News has uncovered dozens of accounts falsely claiming to have access to this year’s exam papers, with some charging hundreds of pounds.

Students say the accounts are “very easy to find,” with one calling the messages “psychologically manipulative.”

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which represents the UK’s eight largest exam boards, believes it is very unlikely that real tests will be leaked online.

Britain’s exam regulator Ofqual says if students try to cheat they could lose the degree they were studying for, even if the papers they are trying to buy are fake.

Students at Commonweal School in Swindon said the fraudulent accounts could be found with “a simple search”.

“They’re everywhere,” Oscar said. “I found them very easily on TikTok.”

Shreya described the accounts she saw on Instagram as “psychologically manipulative” to students who might be tricked into paying.

“The kind of language they use is very positive,” she said.

“It’s so misleading to people who are so stressed. It bothers them.”

Legend, Commonweal School principal Chas Drew is warning students about exam scams.

Headteacher Chas Drew said the scammers’ “reprehensible and unacceptable” actions meant the school was taking a proactive approach to tackling the problem.

As exams approach, teachers show students the fraudulent accounts so they know what to watch out for.

“There’s nothing we do more important than teaching them (students) how to keep themselves safe,” Drew said.

“A lot of it is about protecting yourself in the virtual world as well as the real world.”

Legend, Many fraudulent accounts falsely claim to have access to all papers from multiple exam boards.

Exam board analyst teams scour social media sites to search for fraudsters and report any fraudulent accounts.

But they can only report incidents in the same way as any other social media user.

Some fraudulent accounts often remain active for several days after being reported.

The JCQ wants exam boards to have direct access to the social network’s enforcement teams in order to close accounts more quickly and prevent students from being “defrauded”.

“Anything we can do with social platforms is absolutely crucial,” said Margaret Farragher, chief executive of JCQ.

A spokesperson for Meta, Instagram’s parent company, said it does not allow exams or answer sheets to be sold on its platform and is removing any reported accounts.

TikTok said it was removing any content attempting to defraud or scam members and urged users to report any accounts claiming to sell exam copies.

Separately, the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) said “a very small number of students” accessed some of its exam papers after sharing them online.

More than 150,000 students aged 16 to 19 study for the International Baccalaureate in 143 countries, including the UK.

Some students claimed articles were leaked on Reddit and Telegram.

An IBO spokesperson confirmed there had been cases of time zone cheating, where students who had completed their exams in certain countries shared information with those who had not yet taken their exams.

However, the IBO said this activity was “marginal” and added that there was “no evidence of widespread cheating.”

Any student found to have cheated could face a range of consequences, such as receiving no grades for individual exams or being banned from taking any future IBO exams.