27.06.2026 12:23
In the YKS AYT session held in Istanbul's Çekmeköy district, 20-year-old Mustafa Eren K., who entered the exam hall with a cell phone and attempted to solve questions using the artificial intelligence application ChatGPT, was caught. After being taken into custody, the young man claimed, 'I couldn't find a place to leave the phone, and cheating suddenly came to my mind.' Following his defense, he was arrested and sent to prison.
A mind-boggling cheating attempt occurred during the Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS), conducted by the Measurement, Selection, and Placement Center (ÖSYM) across Turkey and the TRNC with millions of students participating. A candidate who bypassed exam security and smuggled a cell phone inside was caught.
BYPASSED THE PAT-DOWN AND SMUGGLED THE PHONE INSIDE
According to a report in Sabah; the incident took place during the YKS Field Proficiency Tests (AYT) session at a school in Çekmeköy, Istanbul. Mustafa Eren K., a 20-year-old exam taker, managed to smuggle a cell phone, unnoticed during the pat-down at the building entrance, into the exam hall by hiding it inside his shorts.
After the exam began, the suspect took out his phone, photographed pages 37 and 39 of the AYT Science question booklet, uploaded them to the artificial intelligence application ChatGPT, and searched for the answers to the questions.
PROCTORS STOPPED HIM AT THE EXAM ROOM EXIT
Suspicious of the suspect's movements, the exam room proctors waited until the exam time ended. When the exam concluded and Mustafa Eren K. stood up to leave, he was stopped by the proctors. During a detailed search, the proctors said, "We need to search you," and found the cell phone on the suspect. A report was filed, and the police were notified.
"THE IDEA OF CHEATING SUDDENLY CAME TO ME"
Following the incident, the suspect was taken into custody as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office General Investigation Bureau No. 2. In his statement to the prosecutor's office, he made a surprising defense.
Claiming he had come to the exam alone and had no one to leave his phone with, Mustafa Eren K. stated the following in his testimony:
"I turned off the phone's internet, put it on silent, and entered by placing it inside my shorts. After the exam started, the idea of taking photos of the questions with the phone I had and searching for answers in the ChatGPT application suddenly came to me. I took out my phone for this purpose and took the photos. However, I hesitated to continue using it because there were two proctors in the room."
REMORSE DID NOT HELP, HE WAS SENT TO PRISON
The young man, claiming that his intention in bringing the phone to the exam was not to cheat from the beginning, defended himself by saying, "I fell into momentary negligence during the exam and made such an attempt. I regret taking photos of the questions."
However, after the proceedings at the prosecutor's office, Mustafa Eren K. was referred to the court with a request for arrest. The judge ordered his arrest on charges of "Violation of the Law on the Organization and Duties of the Measurement, Selection, and Placement Presidency" and he was sent to prison.