The British Council has warned Bahrain residents of fake International English Language Testing System (IELTS) certification that is being offered without taking the examination.
Richard Rooze, director at British Council Bahrain, told News of Bahrain that the council is aware of the issue and that they are taking necessary actions to address it.
“We are aware of the widespread attempts to commit fraud in the name of IELTS, online and offline. IELTS is the world’s most popular English language assessment test. Due to its high-stakes nature and value, it attracts all kinds of fraudsters who are out to mislead our test takers to cash in on their need for IELTS results,” News of Bahrain quoted Rooze as saying.
Rooze stated that the fraudsters usually advertise on social media and dedicated websites – some even approach test takers personally at test and review centers.
He also reported that to convince test takers, fraudsters would say they have access to the IELTS database and that they can change scores and results that appear in the Online Results Verification System.
“Unfortunately, sometimes a small number of test takers believe that purchasing a fake certificate is an easy fix. In reality, these criminal groups are likely to scam the customer, and they will find the fake useless as they can’t be verified on our official online IELTS portal,” Rooze said.
Photo from News of Bahrain
