GCSE students being charged £500 for fake 'leaked exam papers' in scam

GCSE students being charged £500 for fake ‘leaked exam papers’ by scammers on Instagram and TikTok

• One student, age 15, said she knows pupils who have paid up to £900 for papers 

Social media scammers are charging students hundreds of pounds for fake ‘leaked’ GCSE and A-level exam papers,’ according to reports. 

While it is said to be extremely rare for exam papers to be leaked, the scams are reportedly becoming more common – with fraudsters allegedly trying to charge up to £4,000 for a paper. 

Speaking to the BBC, a 15-year-old student said she first saw accounts claiming to sell GCSE exam papers on TikTok but was told to contact the seller on Instagram. 

She said she was quoted prices starting from £500. 

Though she did not buy an exam paper, the anonymous student claims she knows others who have paid up to £900 for them.  

‘The people who buy from these accounts are your most desperate students,’ she told the broadcaster. 

Scammers are targeting students on social media and claiming they are selling exam papers 

‘These accounts are actually very clever and sneaky in what they do – preying on this vulnerability.

‘You wouldn’t meet a single student across this whole year that has not heard of these accounts. They are everywhere.’

BBC News posed as a GCSE student and messaged two Instagram accounts trying to scam people into buying ‘exam papers’ – one quoted £150.

Both accounts asked for money to be sent through Cash App, but the payment app blocked the BBC’s £150 transaction during their investigation.

The broadcaster said after paying the sum, they were never sent any paper and the account was deleted.  

A spokesperson for the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) described an attempt to obtain any confidential assessment material, whether real or fake, as ‘malpractice’.

BBC News posed as a GCSE student and contacted two ‘fake’ Instagram accounts 

The scams are reportedly becoming more common but people have been warned against them (stock photo)

Those who cheat face disqualification from an exam or being banned altogether, reports warned.  

A Meta spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We don’t allow the sale of future exam papers or answer sheets on Instagram and we’ll continue to remove content and accounts that break our rules.’ 

A Snapchat spokesperson added: ‘Using Snapchat for fraudulent activity is against our rules. When we find activity like this, we remove the account and take appropriate action. 

‘We encourage people to only accept friend requests from people they know and not to share personal details like passwords or bank numbers.

‘If anyone sees any suspicious activity they can report it to us through our in-app tools.’

TikTok reportedly said they remove any accounts ‘promoting fraud or scams’. 

MailOnline has also contacted TikTok, AQA and JCQ for comment. 

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