Fraudsters are openly advertising services to help people illegally pass UK driving tests on social media platforms, a BBC investigation has revealed. More than 600 pages, groups, and accounts on Facebook and TikTok were found promoting driving licences without requiring a test, collectively amassing nearly 139,000 followers.
BBC Verify identified these accounts as of 16 June, with some offering lookalikes to take practical tests or providing Bluetooth earpieces for theory tests. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reported that impersonation fraud cases have more than trebled in five years, from 654 in 2018 to 2,015 in 2023. Despite increased detection, the problem remains largely hidden.
Undercover reporters contacted advertisers posing as unlicensed drivers. One Facebook seller offered a UK licence for £720, claiming delivery within five days without a test. Another, advertising in Vietnamese, quoted £1,600 for theory test cheating and £2,600 for the practical test, totalling £4,200. A mother who paid £1,000 for a fraudster to take her son's test said she found the service via Facebook.
Driving instructors attribute the rise to lengthy waiting times for practical tests, which can reach six months in some areas due to a post-pandemic backlog. Carly Brookfield, chief executive of the Driving Instructors Association, noted that desperation for test slots is driving some to cheat. The DVSA is actively removing fraudulent content, while Meta and TikTok said such ads violate their guidelines and have taken action against accounts.
