D1.5 Academic Failure Scams

"Outlaw Zhang San" Clone Shares Story 5

Tonight, I received a message from a netizen in the UK asking for help with failing a course—reminding me of this scam tactic I only learned about a few years ago (though it likely existed earlier). I had my first close encounter with such a case a few years back and have since helped several students resolve similar issues successfully. All of them attended non-top-ranked universities.

Here’s the gist:

Scammers can be current students, Chinese business owners, graduates, or even university staff. They post ads and aggressively add friends on social media, portraying themselves as extremely enthusiastic and helpful.

Their posts typically promote services like "resolving failed courses," "assisting with graduation issues," "improving low grades," "obtaining exam questions," or "guaranteed passes"—using sensitive terms that are often censored on these platforms (use your imagination for the rest).

I won’t go into detail about the students I helped; instead, I’ll focus on a victim from this year. After failing a course, a student was introduced by his classmate and good friend to a Chinese business owner with a company in the UK. The owner claimed to have connections: having lived in the UK for over a decade, he said he knew many university teachers and could pull strings to help the student pass—for a fee to "grease the wheels." He first collected around 5,000 GBP from the student, then demanded thousands more in various names. After receiving the money, he assured the student to "wait for good news." Before long, the student was reported to the teacher and received an email requesting an explanation and a disciplinary hearing. Fortunately, he acted quickly: upon receiving the email, he confronted his "good friend," who only made vague excuses before stopping all contact. Realizing he’d been scammed by both, he frantically searched online overnight and accidentally found an article I wrote. Impressed by its content, he reached out to me (for a fee) hoping for help. After understanding the full story, I proposed targeted solutions, and he ultimately avoided punishment. His luck lay in the fact that he had never intended to engage in improper conduct and was completely unaware of the scam—backed by supporting evidence alongside his statements.

Key Reminder: Bribing teachers in the UK is illegal. Severe consequences include expulsion and even criminal charges.

What do scammers usually do?

They claim to have "internal contacts"—which they don’t. They take desperate risks to defraud you. For example, they might charge tens of thousands of GBP for a "genuine fake certificate" (genuine in the sense that it’s a real certificate belonging to someone else, fake because it’s not yours). Such certificates won’t be recognized for academic accreditation and may even land you on a public blacklist. (Admittedly, there were cases years ago where internal staff at education authorities accepted bribes to approve accreditations, but after those individuals were arrested and exposed, regulations became much stricter—and previously approved accreditations were immediately revoked.)

They offer "guaranteed pass" schemes with little to no cost to themselves. They collect your money: if you pass, they keep the full fee; if you fail, they refund half or most of it (claiming to have "tried their best"). They pretend to help, but in reality, your success depends entirely on your own efforts. They’re gambling—if you pass, they profit for doing nothing; if you fail, they still profit, just less.

This case teaches us: Put in the effort and take it seriously—passing grades are not that hard to achieve. As an ancient saying goes, "The first step to defeating others is to talk tough and intimidate them with your momentum." So, in the dead of night, when your course least expects it, stand with your hands on your hips and boldly declare: "You little rascal—I just need to pass; I don’t want an extra point even if you give it to me!" Then abruptly open your textbook and read with fierce determination. As the saying goes, "Combining toughness with gentleness is the ultimate power." Alternatively, fold your hands in prayer, whisper softly: "Please let me pass—I’ll give you everything!" Then gently open your textbook and read with tenderness. Professional knowledge has never encountered such tactics—it’ll surely rush into your mind, guaranteeing you a pass!