How To Cheat On A Proctored Exam: 10 Creative Ways

Understanding the specific methods used for academic dishonesty is the first step toward creating more secure assessments. If you are wondering How to cheat on a test, below are 17 common tactics students employ to bypass security measures.

Using a Secondary Device (Phone, Tablet, or Smartwatch)

As one of the most common ways students cheat on online proctored exams, this method involves placing a device like a smartphone or tablet out of the webcam’s view (e.g., taped under the desk or on their lap). This allows them to discreetly search for answers to exam cheating techniques while pretending to think.

Screen Sharing and Remote Desktop Access

A hidden third party is granted remote access to the student’s computer before the exam using software like TeamViewer or AnyDesk. The collaborator sees the student’s screen in real-time via screen sharing and provides answers, a method difficult to detect as the primary user appears to be in control.

Utilizing Virtual Machines

This is a sophisticated form of academic dishonesty where a student runs a hidden operating system using a VM (e.g., VMware or VirtualBox). The proctored exam runs on the monitored OS, while the student switches to the unmonitored VM to access unauthorized materials, creating a digital blind spot.

Capturing Questions with Screen Recording Tools

To steal exam content for future use, students run a discreet background application like OBS Studio or Bandicam to record all exam questions. The captured content can then be distributed to others, compromising the assessment’s integrity.

Abusing Bathroom Breaks

During permitted breaks in long exams, students leave the webcam’s view to quickly access a phone, notes, or a waiting accomplice. Even a few minutes is enough to look up answers and gain an unfair advantage.

Employing a Hidden Bluetooth Earpiece

For live assistance, students can use a tiny, flesh-colored earpiece that is nearly invisible on camera. An accomplice watches the student’s screen (via a compromised share) and whispers answers. This is a popular “Canvas Quiz Answers Hack” that some software counters by detecting unapproved audio devices.

Exploiting Browser Vulnerabilities and Extensions

This tactic involves manipulating the test environment. The cheating may involve using a browser extension to secretly overlay answers or pressing a hotkey to reveal hidden notes. Advanced proctoring systems counter this by requiring users to disable extensions.

Storing Answers in External Devices or Notes

In this method of proctored exam cheating, students may use hardware like a second HDMI cable connected to a hidden, mirrored monitor or a keyboard with built-in memory to store and paste pre-written answers.

Copy-Pasting Content (Plagiarism)

A type of academic dishonesty common in exams with written answers, where students copy text from a hidden source or an AI like ChatGPT. Even when proctoring tools block copy-paste functions, cheaters bypass this by rapidly retyping the content.

Using AI Assistance and Answer Bots

This modern form of online proctored exam cheating involves using another device with an AI tool like ChatGPT or Google’s Bard. Students might photograph a question with a phone to get an immediate answer or ask a voice assistant.

Exam Impersonation or “Proxy” Testing

Considered one of the most severe forms of cheating, a student will share exam credentials with an expert, often paid, who takes the exam on their behalf. Cheaters may use fake IDs to bypass identity verification, and the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has noted many services now offer this explicitly.

Using an Accomplice in the Room

A bold form of academic misconduct where a person is physically present but hidden from the webcam’s view (e.g., under the desk). The accomplice provides answers via hand signals or notes. This is high-risk, as any suspicious noise can be flagged.

Manipulating Light and Reflections

A subtle, low-tech method where a student angles a reflective surface, such as a switched-off smartphone screen, to view notes or another computer placed outside the webcam’s field of view.

Using an HDMI Splitter to Clone the Display

A sophisticated hardware method where an HDMI splitter duplicates the screen output to a second, hidden monitor for an accomplice. Because it’s a hardware-level duplication, it is often undetectable by the proctoring software.

Employing Concealed Bone Conduction Headsets

These devices transmit sound through the skull, leaving the ear canal open and appearing normal on camera. A student can wear one hidden under their hair to receive verbal answers from an accomplice without any visible earpiece.

Hiding Notes in Plain Sight on Room Items

Students embed cheat sheets on permitted items. For example, they might write notes on the back of a drink bottle label and re-attach it or write on a wall behind the camera, glancing up after the initial room scan is complete.

Direct Technical Attacks and System Interference

This type of academic misconduct involves a tech-savvy student targeting the proctoring system itself. They might use developer tools to disable the software, use a firewall to block its server connection, or run a script to interfere with its monitoring, which carries severe academic penalties if caught.