Test-Taking Fraud Potentially Employed Via Rice-Sized Earbuds
In a recent development, police sources in Japan have confiscated bone-conduction earphones and other equipment, believed to have been used in cheating on English proficiency exams. The equipment, which includes a small, discreet earphone and a pendant-shaped relay device, is designed to facilitate covert communication during tests.
The bone-conduction earphone, about the size of a grain of rice, fits inside the ear but is not externally visible. It transmits sound vibrations through the bones of the skull directly to the inner ear, allowing the user to hear audio without blocking the ear canal or producing external sound. This makes it extremely difficult to detect during exams.
The earphone is paired with a pendant-shaped relay device, which connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone. This relay device receives voice or answer information from an external accomplice and transmits it wirelessly to the earphone within the test taker's ear.
In documented incidents during the TOEIC exam in Japan, police confiscated these devices along with instructional videos explaining their operation. The cheaters sometimes also used miniature microphones hidden in masks to send out exam audio to helpers outside the venue, who then relayed answers back through the system.
The international crimes division of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department suspects that the equipment was provided by a Chinese business offering cheating services. However, the specific business is not identified in the article.
The arrest of the suspect was announced on July 22, 2021. The suspect, a graduate student at Kyoto University, is not identified by name in the article. The connection between the university and the cheating case is not specified.
This technology leverages minimal size, bone conduction for silent audio delivery, and wireless relay to facilitate organized cheating on English proficiency tests like TOEIC. The use of such devices underscores the need for strict exam security measures to ensure fairness and integrity in the testing process.
[1] Source for bone-conduction earphone details [2] Source for relay device details [3] Source for hidden microphone details
- The small, discreet bone-conduction earphone, when paired with a pendant-shaped Bluetooth relay device, creates a covert communication system used for cheating on English proficiency exams like TOEIC.
- The devices, including the earphone and the tiny microphones hidden in masks, are often accompanied by instructional videos explaining their operation, as seen in documented incidents during the TOEIC exam in Japan.
- The police in Japan suspect that the equipment used for organized cheating on these tests was provided by a Chinese business offering cheating services, although the specific business remains unidentified in the article.
- The misuse of high-tech gadgets such as bone-conduction earphones, relay devices, and even hidden microphones in masks for general-news worthy crime-and-justice incidents, like the TOEIC exam scandal, emphasizes the importance of strong security measures to maintain fairness and integrity in business practices and testing processes.
