Use of stunt doubles and Bluetooth headphones to cheat theoretical and practical tests grew 47% in one year, according to official agency
The crisis in the issuance of driving licenses in the United Kingdom has generated a dangerous side effect: an explosion in the number of cheating in theoretical and practical exams. Faced with complicated tests and a waiting list that reaches five months to get an appointment, candidates have resorted to illegal methods, ranging from the use of spy technology to hiring “stuntmen” to carry out the tests.
Data from the DVSA (British Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) reveals that almost 2,900 fraud attempts were recorded in England, Scotland and Wales in the year ended September 2025. The number represents a jump of 47% compared to the previous 12 months.
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The most common method, identified in more than 1,100 cases, involves the use of Bluetooth headphones connected to hidden cell phones, allowing third parties to dictate the answers during the theory exam. However, the illegal market has evolved into the physical replacement of the candidate.
There were more than 1,000 attempts at misrepresentation in theoretical tests and almost 650 in practical driving tests. Professional fraudsters charge a premium for the service: a “stuntman” can receive up to £2,000 (approximately R$ 15,6 thousand) per approval. In one emblematic case, a man was sentenced to eight months in prison after admitting to taking exams in place of other candidates 12 times.
The root of the problem is the bottleneck in the system, aggravated since the pandemic and by the action of bots that reserve time slots en masse for resale. The British government admits that the backlog of tests may not be zeroed out before the end of 2027.
For road safety experts, the trend is alarming. The approval of unqualified drivers by fraudulent means directly increases the risk of serious accidents, in addition to impacting insurance costs and legal security in traffic.
