The Most Common Cheating Methods in Interviews

Especially as remote recruitment processes have become more widespread since the pandemic, attempts to cheat in interviews have also reached alarming levels. According to a study by HRD, 50% of candidates admit to cheating on online recruitment tests. 

Meanwhile, 68% of HR professionals say that cheating in online interviews is much harder to detect than in face-to-face interviews. 

With AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor, and Windsurf also entering the picture, ensuring that recruitment processes are fair and reliable is becoming increasingly difficult. This can result in significant losses of time and resources for companies. 

In this guide from QProctor, an online exam security platform, we’ll discuss the most common cheating methods encountered in recruitment tests and interviews.

Common Cheating Examples in Technical Exams and Coding Tests

The cheating methods most commonly used by candidates in technical exams are generally technology-assisted.

Finding Code Solutions Online

Since coding interview questions are generally based on well-known algorithm problems, candidates can search for the question online and copy ready-made solutions. For example, candidates may copy and paste code from platforms such as Stack Overflow and GitHub and present it as their own.

Copying Someone Else’s Code or Solution

Submitting code that the candidate did not write themselves is one of the most basic forms of cheating in interviews. Sometimes, candidates taking the same exam can share their code with each other or reuse answers to the same questions from previous years.

Generating Code with AI

Recently, candidates have been able to use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf, which they keep open on their screens, to provide correct answers to interview questions in seconds.

Getting Outside Help (Proxy Use)

Instead of taking the test alone, some candidates get real-time help from a friend or an expert. Methods include having someone in the same room provide discreet guidance, or writing code together via screen sharing. This kind of proxy use is serious deception from the company’s perspective and can be difficult to detect.

Searching by Switching Between Tabs

Leaving the test platform and searching Google in a new browser tab is perhaps the most common way to cheat using online resources.

How Can Cheating in Technical Exams and Coding Tests Be Prevented?

Integrated security systems that verify candidates’ identities and combine multiple signals—such as webcam, screen, and microphone recording; browser lockdown; tab and device monitoring; and AI-powered behavioral analytics—with real-time and post-exam review are known as “proctoring.”

Proctoring tools that monitor candidates’ behavior during an exam are an important exam and interview security mechanism for companies. 

These exam security platforms can detect many suspicious actions through features such as blocking the opening of new tabs, monitoring copy-and-paste activity, taking screenshots, and webcam monitoring. This both deters cheating and gathers data to detect it. 

For example, in technical interviews, companies can record coding tests with the candidate’s webcam on to ensure that the candidate is taking the test themselves and that no one is helping them. Similarly, a video recording of the screen can document whether the candidate uses other programs or browsers, making it possible to review this later.

The Most Common Cheating Methods in Video Interviews

As remote work has become more widespread, many companies have started conducting interviews through online platforms. However, verifying that the person in front of the camera is actually the person listed on the CV, and ensuring that they are not receiving outside help during the interview, have become serious security vulnerabilities.

For example, even the FBI has shared warnings in its job postings that some candidates use AI-generated deepfake videos in online interviews to impersonate someone else. 

Interviewing a Fake/Impersonating Candidate (Proxy Interview)

One of the most common forms of cheating in video interviews is having someone else take the test on the candidate’s behalf. In other words, someone other than the applicant joins the video interview. Moreover, with AI-powered face and voice cloning technologies such as ElevenLabs and Synthesia, malicious individuals can change their voices and impersonate someone else. A more common scenario is for the candidate to use an earpiece to let someone outside the room hear the questions and dictate the answers. In this form of cheating, candidates repeat what they hear and present it as if it were their own response.

Help and Signals from Outside the Camera’s View

Another common way to cheat in video interviews is for candidates to move out of the camera’s field of view and get help from notes they have written somewhere or from a second person hidden in the room. For example, notes stuck beside the screen or a tablet/phone placed just outside the monitor’s view can help a candidate cheat when answering. If their eyes repeatedly move away from the camera and glance to the sides, they may well be reading something.

Getting Information Using a Second Device

Searching for information on a smartphone, tablet, or second monitor in addition to the primary device during an interview is also a common way to cheat. While using the screen they are looking at directly on camera for the interview, candidates can search Google/ChatGPT on another screen open beside them or get help from someone. In technical interviews in particular, some candidates may open an IDE, Cursor, Windsurf, ChatGPT, Claude, or Stack Overflow on another screen while coding. In other words, using multiple devices is one of the biggest risks to video interview security.

AI-Powered Instant Answers

Another way candidates cheat in video exams is by consulting AI in real time to answer questions. For example, a candidate can quickly type an interview question into ChatGPT and listen to the response through an earpiece or read it from the screen.

Technical Tricks and Excuses

When faced with a difficult question, candidates may deliberately pretend to have technical problems. For example, when asked a particularly difficult question, they may cite connection problems and interrupt the interview to gain time to prepare an answer. Technical tricks such as making the camera appear frozen or claiming that the microphone has suddenly stopped working are frequently encountered.

How Can Cheating in Video Exams and Interviews Be Prevented?

Just as candidates use technology to cheat in video interviews, organizations can also take advantage of technology to prevent cheating.

Use Identity Verification Technologies

Advanced identity verification steps can be implemented to confirm that the person attending the interview is really the candidate who applied. For example, candidates can be asked to show a photo ID before the interview, and interview platforms can use facial recognition to match the person on screen with the ID photo. Similarly, voice biometrics can be used to compare the candidate’s voice with a sample recorded in advance. This can help prevent both the risk of someone else taking the interview on the candidate’s behalf and attempts to add deepfake video edits later.

Use Platforms That Offer Screen Lockdown, Second-Screen Blocking, and Copy-and-Paste Restrictions

Instead of general-purpose platforms such as Zoom or Teams, you can prevent cheating risks by using secure exam and interview platforms designed for recruitment. For example, some secure exam and interview systems have a Lockdown Browser mode. When this feature is enabled, candidates cannot leave the interview screen and switch to another application. The system also records or flags any activity detected beyond keyboard and mouse movements (e.g., switching screens). 

These platforms also offer an environment scan feature that can ask candidates to show the room in a 360° view using their camera before the interview or when needed. This makes it possible to check for a second person in the room, notes on the wall, or prohibited devices on the desk. In addition, multi-device detection technologies can immediately detect when a new device is connected to the candidate’s system during the interview (e.g., a second screen or a different microphone) and notify the interviewer.

Analyze Attention and Behavior

Being “alert” is just as important as technical tools for the person observing the exam or interview. Indeed, experienced interviewers are expected to recognize behavioral cues that may indicate cheating. For example, if a candidate’s eyes keep shifting to a point outside the screen or they pause for an unusually long time before answering, this may be a “red flag.” 

Also, if a candidate frequently mutes themselves while answering a question and appears to be listening to someone on the other end (e.g., muting themselves for every question by saying “there’s a problem with my microphone” and answering a few seconds later), they may be receiving help through an earpiece. Therefore, exam and interview proctors should use observation skillsto analyze the candidate’s body language, tone of voice, and inconsistencies.