Contract Cheating Websites In Spain (2019–2024): Web Traffic Trends During COVID-19 And The Rise Of Generative AI

This study analyzes web traffic trends for 44 Spanish contract cheating websites from 2019 to 2024, focusing on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of generative AI tools. It finds that organic traffic to these sites surged during the pandemic, likely due to increased remote assessments, but declined from 2023 as GenAI tools became more prevalent, potentially reducing reliance on paid services. Despite a smaller volume, paid traffic showed stronger engagement, indicating effective targeted acquisition. The study highlights that some sites still benefit from search advertising despite bans on promoting academic cheating, and it contributes to academic integrity research by using web analytics to track changes in commercial cheating behaviors.