Without her knowing it, a paper that Melinda Riebolt co-wrote while getting her M.B.A. was stolen and put up for sale. And, according to an article that USA Today reported last week, that same scenario has played out many times before.
The article discusses how some essay mills — Web sites that provide written works for students — surreptitiously steal work and then sell it for others to pass off as their own.
For the first time, however, those who find unauthorized postings of their work online may have a way to seek legal retribution. The article says a class-action lawsuit filed in 2006 is making its way through the courts, and one judge in Illinois has found a provider liable on six counts, including fraud and copyright infringement. That site is called RC2C Inc. and hosts at least nine sites that sell term papers.
Essay mills often provide their own written works.
3 Responses to The Computer Stole My Homework — and Sold It Through an Essay Mill
emmadw - November 25, 2009 at 7:58 am
Not convinced by the title … how can the *computer* steal your essay?It’s said she co-wrote it – I could understand it if her co-author sold it without her knowledge … but the computer??
zagros - November 30, 2009 at 7:25 am
Actually, it is very possible using what is known as a “trojan horse” or a “keylogger”. The first type of file (which actually encompasses a range of malware) can send files from your computer to another computer, while the second steals keystrokes as you type. Still, I agree with you, emmadw, it is more likely that the co-author sold it.
justm - November 30, 2009 at 10:26 am
Did the students submit their paper to a courseware management system? Did anyone read this earlier chronicle article?:”Inquiry Found ‘Gross Academic Fraud’ by Students and Employees at U. of Texas at Brownsville”: http://chronicle.com/article/Gross-Academic-Fraud/47914/.