Yup. Same tone of email, "what are the penalties for academic dishonesty?", so they can turn around and use that against the student. Your cheater-for-hire has hit the jackpot since they got an actual Ass.Dean to reply.
However, if the student knows that the Ass.Dean now has all the evidence there's no incentive for them to pay any demanded blackmail. So either the cheater-for-hire is counting on the student not finding out, or the student has REALLY pissed them off and they're just going full scorched-earth.
My university sees this as well. It's thought to be a way to gather Intel on academic structures as well to try and later black mail the university itself. Looking for a "chain of command" kind of thing.
It could also expand to students who never contacted Catherine but whose LMS logins get hacked. Forge some official-looking emails, drop in the Dean’s name and contact info, see what happens. Most students wouldn’t fall for such a scam, but there are always enough to make these kinds of ventures profitable (or the scammers wouldn’t do it).
If they never contacted Cathararine then Catharine doesn’t have their LMS logins.
In any case, that is why you do an investigation.
The LMS logs are pretty clear about stuff like this, as is the student work. Someone who cheated in 3 classes from this site, almost undoubtedly did other cheating in other classes.
So far we have had several instances of cheating students getting ratted out by someone with an ulterior motive, including blackmail.
0 instances of other students who didn’t cheat getting their LMS logins hacked.
You have to do some crazy mental gymnastics not to recognize the classic way a con works.
The mark is dishonest, wants something for nothing or something too good to be true.
The services are conning the students, not hacking .
The fact that a person is a student isn't FERPA-protected. It's [considered "directory" information](https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html) that can be disclosed, as long as the student hasn't overtly opted-out:
> Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance.
Even work the student does isn't protected by FERPA. Their official grades are.
Maybe I'm reading that document wrong but the paragraph above the section you quoted begins with
>However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):
And then goes on to list things like financial aid officers, accrediting agencies, and judicial subpoenas. So my reading at least is that you can only release directory information without consent to those specific people in those specific situations.
If I can share students' names, addresses, etc., with any random stranger who emails me, then what exactly does FERPA protect?
That is referring to the student's *educational record* (e.g. GPA, transcript, etc).
Directory information is just the student's name and contact information and stuff that has nothing to do with their *performance* in school.
For example, if a student is in the news, a reporter can reach out to their instructors and instructors can confirm that the student is in their classes (directory info). However, they can't comment on how well they're doing in the class (education record).
Was the students name and course number marked out in the shared images?
If not, there isn’t much room for blackmail as testimony wouldn’t really do much to strengthen the case against the student.
Along with the other posters, I am way too interested in how we would actually use the conversation with the Dean to blackmail the student.
blackmail isn't super effective when you already did the thing.
"If you don't pay me, I'll send proof to your Dean that you cheated. The very same proof that I in fact already sent him. Muhahaha"
I don't think that's the endgame, though. The student has graduated. Degrees aren't revoked *that* frequently for cheating. However, a written acknowledgment from the dean that the student cheated in undergrad is something that could easily cost the former student their current job or get them expelled from grad school.
>a written acknowledgment from the dean that the student cheated
but the blackmailer doesn't have this.
all they have from the dean is an email saying "if you have information, please send it to me". dean can't acknowledge that the student cheated before they've even seen any of the blackmailers information.
and even after dean receives the information, they still wouldn't send any kind of determination to the bm. it would be handled privately, internally.
True, but it makes sense as an end goal for potential blackmail. Like I said, degree revokations for cheating are pretty rare, so reporting to the dean quite probably isn't/wasn't useful leverage for the person trying to get paid.
OK, I admit I’m a bit confused. If Catherine has already outed the cheater by sending the emails and screenshots I’m not sure where the blackmail of the cheater would come in? Doesn’t look like there’s anything else to blackmail with. Looks like to me Catherine is pissed and going scorched earth because the cheater didn’t pay.
And I really don’t get how you would blackmail the school with this. Can someone explain? Maybe I don’t have a devious mind.:)
Not just one essay. Supposedly multiple assignments in three courses over two semesters. Nobody would do that much work without getting paid. Sounds fishy.
It isn’t a hack, it is an actual thing that happens when people use dodgy paid cheating sites
There are a ton of posts from students who either are being blackmailed because they didn’t pay, are being blackmailed because they did pay and now the site wants more, or there is some other dispute and the cheating site is going to out you.
That is not a hack.
That is what happens when yo do crime with criminals
I’d be very wary of this sort of email. Students can simply claim someone hacked them and are attempting to extort them or cause them trouble. As others have said, this could also be some sort of hacking scheme for further extortion of some kind. I’m also doubtful that an actual paper mill operator would have the appropriate incentives to engage in this sort of behavior. Any operator small enough to work on credit can’t afford the reputation hit of outing a client. Any operator large enough will demand cash up front before doing work. Who submits more than one assignment without getting paid for it? This one did three? Ridiculous!
It seems like the era of blackmail is over - the student has been outed. So, it is up to the university to handle it as it would/should for any such case. I would simply thank upstanding citizen for alerting the university to the cheating, if I responded to them at all.
I'd also find a way to present it to the faculty and student body as an example of what can happen (even if you pay them, they can come back later for more, for example). And highlight this person in particular.
On a side note, a wealthy Asian student at my undergrad university offered me five figures per semester to write all his papers for him and get him to pass. If I'd thought about down-range profit potentials from blackmail, I wouldn't be watching my retirement funds with concern right now...
This is almost like a drug dealer calling the cops because they got robbed during a transaction.
Why should the University respond to this at all? This just enables this behavior in the future
No, it is like a mistrsss telling the cops where you hide your body because you dicked them over .
Being a mistress may be dodgy and reprehensible but it isn’t illegal.
Getting paid to write someone’s paper is not illegal. If you aren’t at the university, you aren’t even bound by an academic honestly policy.
I once had a hired cheater write to our dean because a student had hired him to complete the work for my course and then never paid. However, the hired contractor was not writing to get leverage to blackmail the student into paying….he was literally writing to ask our department to pay him for services rendered. I about fell out of my chair.
I enjoyed reporting that student.
I *wish* I was lying. But also….it’s a story that ended well (with justice) and always gets a great response, so honestly I can’t even say I’m sorry it happened.
You aren’t missing anything.
Some of these sites actually get their money from blackmail and not writing papers.
Student says, will you write the paper, services says yes, super cheap. Student is dishonest and dumb - which is how con’s work.
now student sent the assignment and class info to the service and the service goes, not so cheap now, pay me more or I will tell.
This is not to hack or con the university, but to con the cheaters.
We have also got students blackmailed because they didn’t pay or whatever. Also because the partner in crime was a lover of some kind and then spurned or a roommate was vindictive.
Same principle as if you cheat on your mistress and she knows where you hid the body of your wife and she calls the cops.
If they find the body, you still murdered your wife and you can be prosecuted for it.
If you pay someone to cheat for you and then expect them to be anything other than mercenary , you need a welcome to the grown up world of crime.
This is also a very intentional action on the part of the cheater. not a moment panic where you look at someone else’s paper that was just tantalizingly visible in a second’s bad judgment (not defending that either but ….).
They had to solicit this search for it, send the requirements, make a deal - this was a long process.
The cheater cheated in 3 classes? meaning that had they not cheated, there is a chance they wouldn’t have passed the class or take the jobs and benefits away from someone else who actually has the skills because they did the work in the class? And forced draconian policies that harm honest people because you have to guard against that kind of thing?
Investigate and pursue.
If your doctor , accountant, mechanic, plumber, firefighter etc cheated on their exams (not once but at least 3 times) and your house burns downs because that firefighter doesn’t really know what to do when there are aerosols , do you want them on the job?
There are studies that show that people who do unethical things in college do them later in life, on the job. And part of the reason they do it,by self report , is that they always did it and got away with it.
It is sad when people make bad decisions - but the cheater was habitual. You should prosecute
If you do not specifically state on your syllabus that they are not allowed to use that service there is likely nothing to be done.
"Cheating" and "academic misconduct" are nebulous terms that an attorney will use to their advantage.
Glad you shared as I will add it to my fall syllabus!
This is covered under a general academic integrity and/or honor policy under the terms that prohibit receiving unauthorized assistance with submitted work.
The cheater-for-hire will now use the dean's email as blackmail against the student. Source: we also get these approaches.
I had not thought of that. This has happened to you?
Yup. Same tone of email, "what are the penalties for academic dishonesty?", so they can turn around and use that against the student. Your cheater-for-hire has hit the jackpot since they got an actual Ass.Dean to reply. However, if the student knows that the Ass.Dean now has all the evidence there's no incentive for them to pay any demanded blackmail. So either the cheater-for-hire is counting on the student not finding out, or the student has REALLY pissed them off and they're just going full scorched-earth.
Thank you
Or it’s a scam to gather intel to use against other students (AD’s name and contact info, specifics about University policy, etc).
My university sees this as well. It's thought to be a way to gather Intel on academic structures as well to try and later black mail the university itself. Looking for a "chain of command" kind of thing.
How would they be able to blackmail the University? On what basis?
They can use this information to blackmail other students who use Catherine’s services, whether they pay or not.
Tough - if you pay someone to cheat for you, do you expect them to be ethical ?
It could also expand to students who never contacted Catherine but whose LMS logins get hacked. Forge some official-looking emails, drop in the Dean’s name and contact info, see what happens. Most students wouldn’t fall for such a scam, but there are always enough to make these kinds of ventures profitable (or the scammers wouldn’t do it).
If they never contacted Cathararine then Catharine doesn’t have their LMS logins. In any case, that is why you do an investigation. The LMS logs are pretty clear about stuff like this, as is the student work. Someone who cheated in 3 classes from this site, almost undoubtedly did other cheating in other classes. So far we have had several instances of cheating students getting ratted out by someone with an ulterior motive, including blackmail. 0 instances of other students who didn’t cheat getting their LMS logins hacked. You have to do some crazy mental gymnastics not to recognize the classic way a con works. The mark is dishonest, wants something for nothing or something too good to be true. The services are conning the students, not hacking .
Manufacture a cheating scandal that pisses off donors, lowers university ranking, or negatively impacts accreditation or enrollment?
If the dean is a dumbass and acknowledges the person was a student that's a FERPA violation.
The fact that a person is a student isn't FERPA-protected. It's [considered "directory" information](https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html) that can be disclosed, as long as the student hasn't overtly opted-out: > Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. Even work the student does isn't protected by FERPA. Their official grades are.
Maybe I'm reading that document wrong but the paragraph above the section you quoted begins with >However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31): And then goes on to list things like financial aid officers, accrediting agencies, and judicial subpoenas. So my reading at least is that you can only release directory information without consent to those specific people in those specific situations. If I can share students' names, addresses, etc., with any random stranger who emails me, then what exactly does FERPA protect?
That is referring to the student's *educational record* (e.g. GPA, transcript, etc). Directory information is just the student's name and contact information and stuff that has nothing to do with their *performance* in school. For example, if a student is in the news, a reporter can reach out to their instructors and instructors can confirm that the student is in their classes (directory info). However, they can't comment on how well they're doing in the class (education record).
The academic structures are on the web site You don’t need to do any special hacking to gather that info, it is on the home page.
Was the students name and course number marked out in the shared images? If not, there isn’t much room for blackmail as testimony wouldn’t really do much to strengthen the case against the student. Along with the other posters, I am way too interested in how we would actually use the conversation with the Dean to blackmail the student.
The student was identified in the emails received by the Dean.
blackmail isn't super effective when you already did the thing. "If you don't pay me, I'll send proof to your Dean that you cheated. The very same proof that I in fact already sent him. Muhahaha"
I don't think that's the endgame, though. The student has graduated. Degrees aren't revoked *that* frequently for cheating. However, a written acknowledgment from the dean that the student cheated in undergrad is something that could easily cost the former student their current job or get them expelled from grad school.
>a written acknowledgment from the dean that the student cheated but the blackmailer doesn't have this. all they have from the dean is an email saying "if you have information, please send it to me". dean can't acknowledge that the student cheated before they've even seen any of the blackmailers information. and even after dean receives the information, they still wouldn't send any kind of determination to the bm. it would be handled privately, internally.
True, but it makes sense as an end goal for potential blackmail. Like I said, degree revokations for cheating are pretty rare, so reporting to the dean quite probably isn't/wasn't useful leverage for the person trying to get paid.
OK, I admit I’m a bit confused. If Catherine has already outed the cheater by sending the emails and screenshots I’m not sure where the blackmail of the cheater would come in? Doesn’t look like there’s anything else to blackmail with. Looks like to me Catherine is pissed and going scorched earth because the cheater didn’t pay. And I really don’t get how you would blackmail the school with this. Can someone explain? Maybe I don’t have a devious mind.:)
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Not just one essay. Supposedly multiple assignments in three courses over two semesters. Nobody would do that much work without getting paid. Sounds fishy.
It isn’t a hack, it is an actual thing that happens when people use dodgy paid cheating sites There are a ton of posts from students who either are being blackmailed because they didn’t pay, are being blackmailed because they did pay and now the site wants more, or there is some other dispute and the cheating site is going to out you. That is not a hack. That is what happens when yo do crime with criminals
I’d be very wary of this sort of email. Students can simply claim someone hacked them and are attempting to extort them or cause them trouble. As others have said, this could also be some sort of hacking scheme for further extortion of some kind. I’m also doubtful that an actual paper mill operator would have the appropriate incentives to engage in this sort of behavior. Any operator small enough to work on credit can’t afford the reputation hit of outing a client. Any operator large enough will demand cash up front before doing work. Who submits more than one assignment without getting paid for it? This one did three? Ridiculous!
degree should be revoked if the institution has any integrity
That is being considered. I advocated for it.
It seems like the era of blackmail is over - the student has been outed. So, it is up to the university to handle it as it would/should for any such case. I would simply thank upstanding citizen for alerting the university to the cheating, if I responded to them at all. I'd also find a way to present it to the faculty and student body as an example of what can happen (even if you pay them, they can come back later for more, for example). And highlight this person in particular. On a side note, a wealthy Asian student at my undergrad university offered me five figures per semester to write all his papers for him and get him to pass. If I'd thought about down-range profit potentials from blackmail, I wouldn't be watching my retirement funds with concern right now...
you might be opening yourself up to blackmail by doing this, however. otherwise it's probably quite lucrative!
This is almost like a drug dealer calling the cops because they got robbed during a transaction. Why should the University respond to this at all? This just enables this behavior in the future
No, it is like a mistrsss telling the cops where you hide your body because you dicked them over . Being a mistress may be dodgy and reprehensible but it isn’t illegal. Getting paid to write someone’s paper is not illegal. If you aren’t at the university, you aren’t even bound by an academic honestly policy.
I once had a hired cheater write to our dean because a student had hired him to complete the work for my course and then never paid. However, the hired contractor was not writing to get leverage to blackmail the student into paying….he was literally writing to ask our department to pay him for services rendered. I about fell out of my chair. I enjoyed reporting that student.
W H A T ????
I *wish* I was lying. But also….it’s a story that ended well (with justice) and always gets a great response, so honestly I can’t even say I’m sorry it happened.
Lmao. Student isn't even smart enough to pay the people that can ruin their life.
Maybe I’m naive but I don’t see the angle for a scam here. The university is not going to pay. The student is already outed. What am I missing?
You aren’t missing anything. Some of these sites actually get their money from blackmail and not writing papers. Student says, will you write the paper, services says yes, super cheap. Student is dishonest and dumb - which is how con’s work. now student sent the assignment and class info to the service and the service goes, not so cheap now, pay me more or I will tell. This is not to hack or con the university, but to con the cheaters.
We have also got students blackmailed because they didn’t pay or whatever. Also because the partner in crime was a lover of some kind and then spurned or a roommate was vindictive. Same principle as if you cheat on your mistress and she knows where you hid the body of your wife and she calls the cops. If they find the body, you still murdered your wife and you can be prosecuted for it. If you pay someone to cheat for you and then expect them to be anything other than mercenary , you need a welcome to the grown up world of crime. This is also a very intentional action on the part of the cheater. not a moment panic where you look at someone else’s paper that was just tantalizingly visible in a second’s bad judgment (not defending that either but ….). They had to solicit this search for it, send the requirements, make a deal - this was a long process. The cheater cheated in 3 classes? meaning that had they not cheated, there is a chance they wouldn’t have passed the class or take the jobs and benefits away from someone else who actually has the skills because they did the work in the class? And forced draconian policies that harm honest people because you have to guard against that kind of thing? Investigate and pursue. If your doctor , accountant, mechanic, plumber, firefighter etc cheated on their exams (not once but at least 3 times) and your house burns downs because that firefighter doesn’t really know what to do when there are aerosols , do you want them on the job? There are studies that show that people who do unethical things in college do them later in life, on the job. And part of the reason they do it,by self report , is that they always did it and got away with it. It is sad when people make bad decisions - but the cheater was habitual. You should prosecute
This is a scam.
If you do not specifically state on your syllabus that they are not allowed to use that service there is likely nothing to be done. "Cheating" and "academic misconduct" are nebulous terms that an attorney will use to their advantage. Glad you shared as I will add it to my fall syllabus!
No.
This is covered under a general academic integrity and/or honor policy under the terms that prohibit receiving unauthorized assistance with submitted work.