Scams have no limits to how far they will go to sucker people, and a ruse to trick high school dropouts out of hard earned cash is no exception.

The American Council on Education reported last month that GED administrators nationwide have received an increasing number of complaints from students who paid exorbitant fees to take what they thought was a real GED test. But instead of earning their General Educational Development credentials, the student learns that the test was fake and was not accredited.

Lou Ann Parker, a GED test administrator for the N.C. Community College System, said many students are being fooled after paying money to take the test online at bogus Web sites.

"A lot of students are going online and doing it and paying $250 to $500," Parker said.

While legitimate GED preparation courses are offered online, the actual test is not, Parker said. In North Carolina, the test is offered through the community college system and costs only $7.50 to take. Locally, the test is offered at College of The Albemarle.

According to Parker, GED scams are not new, but have grown in recent years because an increasing number of high school dropouts has led to more potential test-takers. When fake GED programs are discovered, they are reported to the N.C. Attorney General's Office, she said.

According to Parker, officials are looking at ways to prevent GED fraud.

"We want them to stop doing it to students and we're exploring legal action against them," she said.

More than 12,000 GED certificates are awarded each year statewide.

To find a GED testing center outside northeastern North Carolina, visit online at acenet.edu/resources/GED/center_locator.cfm.