The same might be said for plagiarism - there are no references to plagiarism in the UK before 1995 yet in June 2000 Laurie Taylor's THES column referred to it twice.
Academics are probably right to worry.
In the intervening years, estimates of how much cheating is going on, though problematic to confirm, have grown ever more alarmist. A colleague of mine in a Midland university recently wanted to experiment with electronic detection tools designed to spot plagiarism and collusion and told students he would be doing so. In 2001, various studies have been set in motion to try and assess just how widespread the problem might be. Whatever the current level, plagiarism is bound to increase, in part because of new technology. Here are a few suggestions but also a word of warning.