Fake GCSE and A-level exam papers sold on Instagram and TikTok

Social media scammers are charging pupils hundreds of pounds for what they assertion are leaked GCSE and A-level exam papers, but are apt to beryllium fakes.

A GCSE pupil, who was quoted £500 for a insubstantial by idiosyncratic connected Instagram, said the thought papers mightiness beryllium for merchantability was "the astir talked astir hype" of exam season.

It is highly uncommon for genuine papers to beryllium leaked, exam boards said.

But they added the scams were becoming much common, with fraudsters charging betwixt £7.50 and £4,000 per paper.

Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat said fraudulent enactment was against their rules and anyone who spotted specified accounts should study them.

Exam regulator Ofqual warned immoderate students caught cheating could beryllium banned from taking their exams.

Jade, not her existent name, spoke to BBC News connected information of anonymity.

The 15-year-old archetypal saw accounts claiming to merchantability GCSE exam papers connected TikTok.

In a speech with 1 of the accounts, she was past told to interaction the seller connected Instagram.

"I was taken aback due to the fact that it was ridiculous prices," Jade said.

"Anywhere northbound of £500 for a insubstantial was the emblematic connection from aggregate accounts for 1 exam paper."

Jade did not bargain the exam insubstantial but said she knows students who person paid up to £900.

Another pupil told BBC News they had paid a societal media relationship £60 past twelvemonth for a GCSE maths exam.

But they were near feeling "hurt and annoyed" erstwhile the relationship blocked them and failed to nonstop anything.

"The radical who bargain from these accounts are your astir hopeless students," she said.

"These accounts are really precise clever and sneaky successful what they bash - preying connected this vulnerability.

"You wouldn't conscionable a azygous pupil crossed this full twelvemonth that has not heard of these accounts. They are everywhere."

BBC News posed arsenic a GCSE pupil and contacted 2 abstracted Instagram accounts claiming to merchantability exam papers.

One quoted a terms of £120 for an AQA geography insubstantial and £150 for an English connection paper. Another relationship besides quoted £150 for a azygous exam paper.

Both accounts asked to beryllium paid done the outgo app, Cash App.

But our £150 transaction was blocked by Cash App connected respective occasions - truthful the scammer asked to beryllium paid with a acquisition paper for a High Street retailer.

After paying the agreed fee, our messages were ignored and nary insubstantial was sent to us. The scammer's societal media relationship was past deleted earlier BBC News had the accidental to study it to Instagram.

A spokesperson for Meta, the institution that owns Instagram, said the merchantability of aboriginal exam papers oregon reply sheets was not allowed and immoderate specified contented would beryllium removed from the platform.

AQA lawsuit expert Bill Hewison said galore utilized doctored images of erstwhile exams, changing the day and substance connected the beforehand screen to effort to dupe students.

"A fewer weeks ago, we saw an relationship claiming to merchantability 1 of our exams for £7.50," helium said.

"Right astatine the different extremity of the scale, you've got thousands of pounds [being quoted] - two, three, 4 1000 pounds."

BBC News was granted exclusive entree by exam committee AQA, to spot however its malpractice teams effort to unopen down the fraudulent accounts.

They bash not cognize who is down the accounts, but they person scoured societal media for anyone claiming to merchantability papers to students, earlier and during exam season.

Exam boards person nary powerfulness to unopen the accounts down truthful instead, they study them to societal media platforms - often citing copyright arsenic a mode to escalate the complaint.

A spokesperson for TikTok said immoderate accounts "promoting fraud oregon scams" are removed, portion Snapchat said users should study suspicious enactment truthful that enactment tin beryllium taken.

But morganatic leaks are uncommon - and fraudulent accounts connected societal media are a increasing problem.

"If we bash a hunt connected Tuesday, we volition spot 5 accounts. If we bash the aforesaid hunt connected Wednesday, we volition spot 10 accounts," Mr Hewison said.

"If you get one, they'll conscionable make different account."

Joint Council for Qualifications main enforcement Margaret Farragher said it was similar "digital whack-a-mole".

"As soon arsenic they effort to adjacent down 1 of these fake accounts, different 1 opens up," she added.

Ofqual main regulator Jo Saxton told students not to trust connected "fraudsters connected the internet" up of their exams.

"You hazard not lone losing wealth but the consequences for you are truly serious," she said.