Cheating in exams is nothing new, but one professor came up with an ingenious way to catch students red-handed—and it worked perfectly.
Reddit user u/Mwxh shared how their engineering professor devised a brilliant yet controversial trap to expose students using Chegg, a website known for providing homework answers. By planting an unsolvable exam question and uploading a fake answer online, the professor caught 14 students cheating out of a class of 99.
While some praised the professor’s genius move, others argued that the trick question may have unfairly impacted honest students.
The suspicious bathroom breaks
During an engineering final exam, the professor noticed a pattern—half the class seemed to suddenly need a bathroom break.
For many, it was obvious what was happening.
"I remembered that there was one particular problem that was only barely related to the stuff we went over in class, where part A was fairly easy but I had no idea how to do part B," the Redditor explained.
They weren’t too worried because that part was worth only 5 points out of 100—but for others, those 5 points seemed worth a trip to the bathroom.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Kampus Productions
A trap set weeks in advance
After the exam, students received an email from their professor, explaining exactly what had happened.
He knew students were looking up answers on Chegg, so weeks before the test, he and a teaching assistant (TA) devised a plan.
- The TA submitted a fake question to Chegg—a unique problem that didn’t actually exist.
- The professor then created his own Chegg account and answered the question with a wrong but convincing solution.
The trap was set.
14 students fall for the bait
After grading the exams, the professor discovered that 14 students had copied the fake answer word-for-word—proving they had cheated during their bathroom break.
Their punishment?
- A score of zero on the exam
- A formal report for violating the university’s academic honor pledge
- Their names shared with other professors in the department
Not everyone agreed with the method
While some praised the professor for taking cheating seriously, others worried that the trick question may have hurt honest students who spent too much time on an impossible problem.
u/blastcage pointed out:
"I get the idea here, but I can definitely imagine spending way too long on this unsolvable question and it'd mess up the rest of my timing."
Another user, u/Waifer2016, agreed:
Professors and students weigh in
Not everyone opposed the professor’s tactics. Many celebrated the move, arguing that cheaters deserve to get caught.
u/sassyandsweer789 supported the strategy, saying:
"This is amazing. Honestly, if you're cheating on a proctored test, you deserve to get caught. Study like everyone else."
Meanwhile, u/Zwartebeer, who is also a professor, was so impressed that they wanted to use the same trick:
"Brilliant. I teach at a university myself. This trick I will shamelessly copy if I think it prudent!"
A bold move with lasting consequences
Cheating in college is nothing new, but this professor’s ingenious trap showed just how far some educators will go to protect academic integrity.
While some saw it as a stroke of genius, others debated whether it was fair to students who didn’t cheat.
One thing’s for sure—after this, students at that university probably think twice before sneaking off to the bathroom during an exam.
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