@isabella333

Report issues of fraud, scammers, etc to:

ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-website

gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing

@FreelanceWriter
'Use only writers who provide you with their complete ID and address information on request......'

I do worry that you are probably deliberately ignoring the fact that writing essays for students attending British universities is aganist the law. Skills and Post 16 Education Act 2022. Stop encouraging students to endanger their future careers by cheating.

@noted
Sorry for the delay in replying. Just returned from a Canary Isles cruise and adjusting to British weather!
The legislation is Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022.

@pauli

Well done although in future remember the law relating to essay mills and freelance writers wheresoever based in the world.
Sit tight, do nothing. Keep trying to block them but do not respond to the scammers.

@Pep123

I doubt a university will act on anonymous tip offs. The company would have to divulge its identity whereupon the university will report it to the British authorities to take action.

Other students in similar situations have always 'owned up' when confronted by their respective universities. Action taken has varied and that is all I'm prepared to say about it on a public forum. Might be best to do nothing unless or until your University confronts you.

Whatever happens do not engage with the company and certainly don't pay them another penny.

@Pep123

Just keep blocking them. They will eventually give up.
Just checked their website where they are offering a 50% reduction on the first order anyone places. This is clearly a scam as no self-respecting legitimate essay writing company would offer such a massive reduction.

Why/how did you disclose the identity of your university to them?
Wait until you get your results if you prefer, but most UK universities can still take action retrospectively, including rescinding qualifications.

@Pep123

You can inform them about the blackmailing now, no need to wait for your results.
As the company are unscrupulous scammers, there is nothing to be gained by telling them they are commiting a criminal act.

@Pep123

Sorry that I missed your post and I would like to offer you advice as a British citizen who understands the British higher education system.

Firstly, @formerstudent has given excellent advice. You can read numerous posts from @noted and me on this forum all offering similar advice without seeking publicity, since we are no longer active writers.

Unfortunately @freelancewriter, an American writer, seems to think it is fine if you use a writing service to undertake research for you. He does not understand English law or grammar (using 'queue' instead of 'cue'). The Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 makes it illegal for anyone to even advertise essay writing services, much less actually writing anything. Students may try and argue the writing is for personal use only, but in most cases this is untrue.

You can report blackmailing emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Do not reply to the latest email you have received. Why don't you block them from your email address too? The National Cyber Security Centre advises not to pay any ranson: 'If you pay the ransom, you might be targeted with more scams, as the criminal will know their previous scam worked'.

I hope this advice has reassured you that you are dealing with scammers. You do need to block them from all methods of communication with you.

@Dissertation07

You are a fraud. You only have to examine your writing to know that any self-respecting student should run a mile from you.

@noted
Funny you should say that as I was thinking the same thing.
@Dissertation07 has no idea how to use English grammar. If he is using AI he needs to try another provider/version!

Does this advice go for freelance writers too?

@klaqwaq

Actually don't seek support from writers, trusted or otherwise, if you are breaking the law by getting them to write your essay.
Look at using AI.

@klaqwaq

No need to panic. You thought about it and changed your mind. The work you submitted was 100% your own.

@klaqwaq

Just continue to ignore them. They are bluffing and you never submitted the essay anyway. They have no leverage to use against you. There is plenty of sound, impartial, advice from @noted and me about the steps you and others in similar predicaments should take.

Not sure where you are studying, but you could try AI to help you in the future.

@Lampshade949


According to their website, the company's address is 207 Regent Street, London.

However, thousands of firms are listed as being based at number 207 Regent Street.
This posh London address is where some 4,000 firms call home: But it's not their real office. They pay £24 a month for a forwarding service - and it's a scammers paradise.

If you are studying at a university in England, you should not be using essay writing mills or freelance writers wherever based. It is against the law. That said the company is trying to scare you into parting with your money and as I have said repeatedly on this forum together with @noted, ignore them. Do not interact with them in any way. They are just bluffing.

For the future, you could try using AI as an alternative academic writing tool.

@Steff4838

There seems to be an increase in the number of UK students seeking advice on being blackmailed.
Firstly ignore and block the company. Do not enter into communication with them. If they send a letter from the Dept of Education (only a UK based writer will know about them) ignore it as it will be a fake.

You should not be asking a freelance writer or essay company (wherever located) to write essays for you as it is unlawful under the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022.

Have you thought about using AI in the future? It's cheaper than any freelance writer and may help you.

@jackzoe
Thanks for being so upfront advertising your services which breach the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022. Advertising and providing your services are a breach of criminal law. What is the address of your London offices? Do they even exist? On your website it says 'We Specialize in!' which is American spelling. Students beware of using this company.

This looks as if you wanted them to mark it for you.
It seems strange to contact the company 3 days after you had submitted the essay. Surely it would have been better to get it proofread before you submitted it.

So far as your school is concerned, in the unlikely event that the company contact them, you can show that you haven't done anything wrong by showing the timeline of events. You submitted the essay, written by you, and the company had no input whatsoever.

@OOC1997
The UK does not have 'honor codes' so it is dangerous to rely on advice given by someone ignorant and unfamiliar with the British education system.

Academic Conduct Policy and Academic Integrity and Misconduct are common phrases used in British universities.

For the record, most universities permit proofreading but a few do not.
Some universities have their own policy on proofreading which restricts students in their choice of proofreaders.
'If you are seeking a professional proofreader for your academic work, click on the Register of Approved Proofreaders.'portal.lancaster.ac.uk/ask/study/developing-academic-skills/reading-writing/proofreading/

There is an entire section on Proofreading policy: portal.lancaster.ac.uk/ask/study/developing-academic-skills/reading-writing/proofreading/

Interesting and somewhat predictable response above from writers who rightly feel threatened by AI.

An American point of view

"I do think it's important for us to start thinking about the ways that [AI] is changing writing and how we respond to that in our assignments -- that includes some collaboration with AI," Annette Vee, associate professor of English and director of the Composition Program at the University of Pittsburgh, told us.

"The onus now is on writing teachers to figure out how to get to the same kinds of goals that we've always had about using writing to learn. That includes students engaging with ideas, teaching them how to formulate thoughts, how to communicate clearly or creatively. I think all of those things can be done with AI systems, but they'll be done differently."

The line between using AI as a collaborative tool or a way to cheat, however, is blurry. None of the academics teaching writing who spoke to The Register thought students should be banned from using AI software. "Writing is fundamentally shaped by technology," Vee said.

In the UK there is a more pragmatic viewpoint.

It has been described as "a gamechanger" that will prove a challenge in universities and schools. Michael Draper, professor in legal education at the University of Swansea and an expert on academic integrity and cheating. He said universities could try to ban it, as they ban other forms of cheating like essay mills, which students pay to produce an original piece of work that they then submit. Draper said: "The other alternative is that you allow students to use it. lf we're preparing students for the outside world of work and if in the workplace this sort of technology is given to us, then I think we need to embrace it rather than ban it."

Michael Webb, the director of technology and analytics at Jisc, which provides network and IT services to higher education, agreed. He said: "The knee-jerk reaction might be to block these tools in order to stop students cheating, but that's neither feasible nor advisable. We should really regard them as simply the next step up from spelling or grammar checkers: technology that can make everyone's life easier.

@pauli
Why? He has a great deal to lose by admitting he broke the law but I'm not a mind reader. If I was in his shoes, and I wanted to carry on writing essays (illegally), then I wouldn't report you. But I'm not him.

You are better off using AI to write your essays and then adapting them rather than using a freelance writer. I know students who have used AI to help them and they have been pleased with the results.

@pauli

Who knows, but by doing so he would reveal himself as someone who broke the 2022 legislation, and it's not in his interest to do so.

@pauli
Yes, that will be evidence that he has broken the law. But you also have the power to report him to enforcement authorities.
He needs to have something to lose.

@pauli

Yes definitely block him.

@pauli
It is worrying for you, but maybe mentioning the 2022 legislation might make him think twice before he contacts your supervisor.

@pauli
You need to point out to the writer that if you report them under the 2022 Act they will have a criminal record, be fined and their website closed down.

@pauli

So he has the name. Is that supervisor identifiable from a Google search? Is the supervisor on LinkedIn for example, whereby he/she can be traced to a particular university? You can always point out to the writer that they are criminally liable under the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022.

@pauli

You should listen to advice from people who have nothing to gain but are willing to give you unbiased advice. As stated previously on similar threads, only @noted and me can give you such advice. We are both retired and not seeking promotion for our services.

You have nothing to fear. Block and ignore this person. Consider it a lesson learnt the hard way since it is now illegal in England for anyone to write an essay for someone. Look at Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022. Do not appoint anyone ouside the UK either, as they are equally as culpable as a UK based writer.

@mas1998

I shall endeavour to give you a helpful reply. You are based in the UK. Being British I know how the education system operates in the UK.

The letter from the Dept.of Education will be fake so ignore it.

Ignore all communications from the company and block them if possible.

Do not send them any more money.

SpeedyPapers is a US based company. If you are studying at a British University do you really believe company representatives are going to travel to the UK and turn up at your university?

They are bluffing.

@Katejanine45

I doubt the essay company knows the identity of your university. They are just bluffing. Ignore and block them.
Read this link which should help you. https://essayscam.org/forum/gt/blackmailed-money-assignment-6764/2/
Follow advice given by @noted and me.

Why would you suggest reporting fraud on a UK website to an American studying in America? Your advice is wrong.

This is likely true, as of course do the authorities who are looking for cheating.

@Shelly K

It is illegal for anyone to write essays for someone studying at an English University.
Do nothing, just ignore their emails or texts. You decided not to use them; wise move, wherever they are located in the world. How can they threaten to revoke your degree when you haven't yet graduated?

Name and shame the company here.

@Tutorsindia152
This is from your Instagram page:
Tutors India
'We offer high-quality 2:1 UK Academic Writing & Data analysis services that have extremely benefited..........'

You are breaking English law relating to criminalising the advertising and provision of essay writing services.
You cannot spell 'benefited' correctly. Even if your service was legal, why would anyone studying in the UK ever order anything from you? I would advise students to steer clear of you.

You know what to do, which is nothing. Do not panic. My Private Messages to you will hopefully reassure you.
Check out other posts for sensible, unbiased advice on similar situations from @noted too.
Between us we help students avoid succumbing to blackmail.

@Dipsinho
It is best if I deal with you via Private Message. I think you may need 6 posts before you can use the function, so just reply to this post here and that should be fine.

@Dipsinho
I've not had access to internet for a day!
Don't do anything until I have reviewed your case. Listen to my advice as I am in the UK.

@noted
This is a sobering story which every student studying at any university based in England should read.

Excerpt from UCL's website realating to academic misconduct:
'You should be aware that it is a criminal offence to advertise or provide Contract Cheating services, and UCL would normally report this to the Police.'

Case Study: Contract Cheating

Amanda was suffering with illness for a few days prior to the start of Take-Home Paper assessment. She decided to go ahead with the assessment despite being ill, and struggled to answer the questions effectively due to the anxiety of not being able to perform her best. As a result she decided to use a "Homework Help" website to ask an assessment question she was struggling with. Having received an answer from the site, she used part of the answer but not all of it and submitted the assessment.

Several weeks later she was contacted by her Faculty and was accused of Contract Cheating. This was due to an investigation which had linked the student to usage of the website.

Outcome: Amanda had committed Contract Cheating. This is due to her Commissioning an answer from a third party, which would still be true if she had not used the answer at all (UCL must reasonably assume any Commissioned answer is done so with the intent to use it). The penalty in the case was Expulsion due to UCL's zero tolerance approach to Contract Cheating.

What should they have done: In this instance Amanda should have deferred the assessment to a later date through UCL's Extenuating Circumstances Procedure and undertaken the assessment when no longer ill.'

University of Liverpool's website states:
'The best tool at our disposal to limit these practices (cheating) is to educate our students with regard to academic integrity, support them in their learning and model the five fundamental values in our own research and teaching practice'. This shows that universities are being more proactive in offering help to students who may be tempted to cheat.

Every student who uses essay writing companies or freelance writers, run the real risk of being excluded from university. Even if you have been awarded a degree, you run the risk of it being taken away, if you are later found to have 'cheated,' so your career could also be at risk. Universities are developing new software tools and strategies to detect students who have used so-called essay mills.

Update.
I never received a reply to my enquiry.

This is message from their website via link https://academicsciences.co.uk/
Due to changes in legislation regarding the advertisement and supply of 'essay writing services' in England, this website is currently disabled. and being redeveloped to ensure it abides by all applicable laws. The website remains active for previous customers to be able to access their existing accounts. We will be issuing updates to all affected parties in due course. Thank you, and please feel free to contact us via email if further information if required.

This link https://staging.academicsciences.co.uk/about/contact/ gives contact details. When I phoned, a recorded message said 'your account is currently disabled.'

Maybe they are not operating.

The law covers England in which the county of Hampshire is situated.
I have written to this company and will update you when/if I get a response.