Instead of simply resorting to the time-honoured practice of spotting, students are now dividing their work up into chunks and getting friends - themselves students or past students - to take on a chunk, smuggle themselves into the exam venue with fake student cards, and help their friends out. I suppose they reckon if the University can outsource those bits of its operations it would rather not dirty its hands with, that principle can be applied to their "learning" too. There are even rumours of prospective students cheating on PTEEP tests by getting others to write them for them.
Aside from the obvious question of "how do they get caught?" - after all, I've yet to meet anyone who even vaguely resembles the picture on their student card, even after a really heavy night out - the other question that won't be silenced is... at what point does one stop faking, once one realises it's a strategy with a fair chance of success?
We've seen prominent academics exposed for dressing up their CVs, and recruitment agencies now routinely check up on certificates and written testimonials, and a whole industry of women's magazines has been spawned on the practice of faked orgasms and faked relationships. The fashion industry trumpets "faux fur" and the food industry has since forever faked things like butter, banana flavour and whipped cream, pop groups lip synch and tv evangelists even fake religion. Is there anything appropximating an Authentic Existence still around for these confused students - who, after all, are only cheating themselves, in the end - to aspire to?