As the school year wraps up, teachers and students look forward to seeing their hard work reflected in the national exam results. On the other hand, those who feel unprepared are tempted to search for shortcuts and exam leaks in these final moments.
This is how some parents, teachers, and students fall victim to scammers on the popular app, Telegram. Desperate to pass exams, they often end up relying on these fraudsters who promise leaked papers.
A recent investigative expose conducted by NTV revealed that the fraudsters create groups mostly operated by bots. The group’s title is ‘Official KCSE Leakages 2024’ and has more than 72,000 subscribers. The number only keeps rising during the exam periods.
The fraudsters claim they can provide students with KCSE exam papers for a fee. The report further revealed that these scammers gain access to actual KCSE papers shortly after they’re opened or even while the exam is underway. At this point, they distribute copies to their paying customers.
The scammers offer different pricing packages, based on subject and access level. A single paper costs Sh. 3,500, while ‘VIP access’, initially set at Sh. 18,000, has dropped to Sh. 12,000, covering all papers until the end of the exams.
The investigative team paid both amounts and discovered that once payment is made, the group creators do not hold up their end of the bargain and instead go missing in action.
The money is sent to two individuals who supposedly run the accounts; Bernard Kibet and Amos Langat. After payments, they were prompted to wait for more than 30 minutes after which the telegram bot gave a response.
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“I am not sure how to respond to that. This is an automated KCSE leakage bot. Every resource is available here. Follow the procedure to access the KCSE leakages and other services, and contact admin for more. Please use the menu buttons/start to access our services,” the message read.
By posting photos of the exam papers as soon as exams begin, these scammers lure unsuspecting parents, teachers, and students into paying money. This is how they run their criminal enterprise.
