The police are searching for a person who is believed to have taken driving tests for others while posing as them.
Derbyshire Police have issued a photograph of a woman who has been connected to similar events in twelve other counties.
According to the police, the woman may have conducted similar scams in Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Worcestershire, Hereford, Kent, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Greater London.
On November 18 on Derby’s Quintin Road, a member of the driving center’s staff became suspicious, according to detectives, when she seemed to be taking a test on behalf of someone else.
A spokesman for Derbyshire Police said, ‘Officers are asking for the public’s help to identify a woman they want to speak to in connection with an alleged fraudulent driving test.
‘The incident took place in Quintin Road, Derby, on 18 November, where driving test staff became concerned one of the women present may have been taking a test on behalf of another person.
‘Officers are now asking for the public’s help to identify the woman pictured who they want to speak to in connection with this incident, as well as other similar incidents around the country.’
It is believed that driving test fraud is at an all-time high, with a rich black market growing for unlawfully taking exams for non-English speakers.
In July, an individual was sentenced to eight months in prison for charging between £700 and £800 each test.
Inderjeet Kaur, age 29, was incarcerated after confessing to investigators that she had impersonated people 150 times in both theoretical and practical exams.
Ali Ahmad, 46, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in November for charging up to £1,000 to take driving and theory exams in Leicester.
He informed police he had a “no win, no fee” philosophy and even retook a test after failing it the first time.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency advised individuals to report drivers whom they suspect of taking a test for another individual.
A DVSA representative said, ‘It’s illegal to cheat at a driving or theory test by using an impersonator to take the test for you or impersonating a candidate and taking their test for them.
‘Impersonators and people who use them can be sent to prison, banned from driving, ordered to carry out unpaid work and made to pay court costs.’
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