Forged documents and inflated grades make up the bulk of attempted admissions fraud in UK higher education, with scammers targeting busy periods in the cycle in an attempt to sneak through wrongdoing.
With institutions under increased pressure to stamp out fake students, the latest data shows a trend toward more organised fraud pushed by those working on behalf of students and universities, according to the chief executive of a company that carries out hundreds of thousands of checks on admissions documents.
Qualification Check figures shared with Times Higher Education show that the overall fraud rate remained steady at just over 4 per cent in 2025 but the risk was not evenly distributed.
More fraud cases originated in countries such as Bangladesh, Ghana and the US in the last admissions round compared with 2024, while other known hotspots such as Pakistan and India saw drops.