Driving test fraudsters advertising services online

Fraudsters who connection to assistance radical illegally walk their UK driving tests are advertizing their services wide crossed societal media, the BBC has found.

More than 600 pages, groups and accounts beryllium connected Facebook and TikTok promising licences without taking tests - with thousands of followers.

Some suggest lookalikes to instrumentality the applicable trial - others connection mentation trial assistance via a Bluetooth earpiece.

Meta and TikTok said specified contented violates their guidelines.

BBC Verify analysed information from Facebook and TikTok and recovered arsenic of 16 June determination were astatine slightest 669 pages, groups and accounts with 138,900 followers which advertised driving licence services without taking a test. Adverts besides look connected Instagram.

Reports of driving trial fraud done impersonations person much than trebled successful the past 5 years - from 654 successful 2018 to 2,015 successful 2023 - exclusive figures fixed to the BBC by the Driving Standards Agency (DVSA) reveal.

It says the fig of radical who are being caught - and having their licences revoked - is increasing, though it remains a mostly hidden problem.

Between April 2021 to March 2022, much than 4 cardinal mentation and applicable car tests were taken successful the UK, with a walk complaint of astir half.

Our probe recovered societal media platforms littered with posts successful antithetic languages. Many usage genuine pictures of walk certificates and driving licences which person been taken from promotional images posted connected existent driving schoolhouse societal media accounts.

The posts supply constricted accusation astir however these licences are provided without taking a test, astir posts conscionable supply a mobile fig oregon inquire radical to interaction them for much accusation via a nonstop message.

The BBC contacted respective radical advertizing these services connected societal media, posing arsenic idiosyncratic without immoderate driving acquisition who was looking for a licence.

One antheral advertizing connected Facebook claimed helium could supply a UK driving licence for £720, with the walk certificate delivered to the reporter's location successful 5 days - without anyone really sitting a test.

A mentation trial costs £32 and the applicable trial £62, but the RAC estimates the full outgo of learning to thrust is £1,551 including tests and lessons - assuming the idiosyncratic passes archetypal time. In Northern Ireland the tests outgo £32 for the mentation and £45.50 for the applicable test.

One pistillate who advertised connected Facebook successful Vietnamese told our newsman she charged £1,600 for assistance with cheating the mentation trial and £2,600 for the applicable driving trial - a full of £4,200.

She said archetypal she needed to spot what the newsman looked similar to guarantee she had a suitable lookalike to instrumentality the tests.

The BBC besides tracked down a pistillate who paid for a fraudulent service. She had recovered idiosyncratic via a Facebook station to instrumentality the applicable trial for her lad who had been struggling to pass.

The parent paid the fraudster astir £1,000 aft helium had passed the trial connected her son's behalf.

If the woman's lad is ever caught helium would person his licence revoked and look prosecution for fraud, perchance resulting successful a situation condemnation and/or a fine.

TikTok and Meta, the institution that owns Facebook and Instagram, told the BBC that the solicitation of driving licence fraud is not allowed connected their platforms and immoderate contented recovered that violates their guidelines volition beryllium removed.

TikTok besides says it has taken enactment against a fig of accounts pursuing the BBC Investigation.

Driving instructors person told the BBC that the emergence successful applicable trial fraud could beryllium owed to the magnitude of clip it is taking to get a applicable trial slot.

In immoderate parts of the UK determination are waiting times of up to six months owed to a backlog pursuing the Covid pandemic. Some of the fraudsters the BBC spoke to were consenting to question to parts of the UK wherever waiting times are shorter to instrumentality the trial for others.

Carly Brookfield, main enforcement of the Driving Instructors Association, said the backlog was causing "a desperation for trial slots".

"If you're facing the information that if you don't walk the trial you person to hold for up to six months [to effort again], past you're going to deliberation astir cheating the system," she said.

She added that immoderate of the instructors successful her relation had been approached by radical moving transgression services, asking them to notation pupils struggling to walk their test.

The DVSA says it is actively removing accounts which bash this arsenic it breaks the presumption and conditions of the booking platform.

During the investigation, the BBC recovered a flyer successful a London cafe written successful Turkish offering a "100% guarantee" method to walk the mentation test.

Our undercover reporter, posing arsenic idiosyncratic with small acquisition of driving, met the antheral down the advert, who called himself Erdal.

He told the newsman helium could assistance them cheat by feeding them the answers to the test's aggregate prime questions utilizing a "microscopic" Bluetooth earpiece, connected to a mobile phone.

He told them by clicking connected the questions they would beryllium "read retired loud" by the machine which would let him to susurration the close answers.

He said: "It's £1,500 and you volition wage maine close aft taking the test. You volition beryllium wearing a instrumentality successful your ear. The trial administrators volition not look successful your ear.

"We person done this for a agelong time. We bash this for a minimum of 2 radical each day."

After the meeting, the BBC called the fig we had for the antheral to face him astir the scam. The idiosyncratic that answered had the aforesaid sanction but denied knowing thing astir trial fraud.

These scam online adverts tin besides origin individuality fraud problems for the radical who person photos of their trial walk certificates oregon driving licence lifted from morganatic sites.

We spoke to Ian Jones, who had a photograph of his driving licence stolen from a logistics institution helium was registered with. He aboriginal discovered it was being utilized connected Instagram by idiosyncratic advertizing a work for "theory/practical certificate without exams".

Mr Jones says successful the past twelvemonth helium has had to quality hundreds of French speeding and parking tickets helium has received due to the fact that his licence details are being utilized fraudulently abroad.

He said: "It makes you paranoid, it gives you a horrible feeling, it's similar being burgled - you consciousness violated."

The Driving Standards Agency, (DVSA), which promotes roadworthy information and sets standards for training, warns galore online adverts promising afloat licences rapidly are money-making scams which whitethorn lone supply a fake licence. It adds lone the Driving and Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA) tin contented a genuine driving licence.

The fig of radical being prosecuted for trial fraud via impersonations are increasing, the DVSA says. If convicted, they look situation sentences and fines. Last year, a pistillate was jailed for 8 months for taking astir 150 mentation and applicable tests for different drivers.

The DVSA warns if radical bash not conscionable the indispensable driving standards earlier taking power of a vehicle, it could origin superior injuries oregon adjacent fatalities.

Its caput of instrumentality enforcement, Marian Kitson, said its probe squad was catching much radical committing fraud and had revoked hundreds of illegally-obtained licences successful 2022.

In the twelvemonth from April 2022, it sent 30 cases - involving 497 offences - of fraud by mendacious practice for prosecution and determination were 53 arrests.

However, Ms Kitson said it was wide from their investigations that determination was adjacent much occurring, adding that they did not cognize the existent standard of the problem.

"The net is truthful huge; the societal media platforms are immense and these radical are precise clever, they determination the adverts around; they alteration them frequently," she said.

"So actually, spotting them and taking enactment rapidly is simply a existent challenge."