Reporting attempt at cheating To help finance my studies, I have been offering tutoring services for other students throughout the past year. Business has been good and students have been grateful for the help I have given them.

Today, a student I tutored one year ago e-mailed me and asked me to write an online exam for them, saying that they would compensate me financially for this "service". I was quite frankly offended that they could think, that I would go along with such a scheme.

Obviously I will reject the offer, but how should I go about doing this and what additional steps should I take? Should I simply not respond, or should I follow my inclination to chastise the student for even making the suggestion? While they have yet to actually cheat, I am strongly considering contacting their professor to alert them to the situation; if I reject the offer, the student is likely to contact someone else with lower moral standards. 

Below is the full e-mail I received with identifying information redacted:

"I don't know if you remember me, but you help me with [Course 1] during summer 2019. I am taking a [Course 2] deferral exam [on date] and due to the situation right now and the fact that I moved back home temporarily, I am not going to have enough time to study. The exam will be fully online and based on multiple-choice and short-answer questions. That said, I was wondering if you would ever consider taking the exam for me, I would never ask this if the exam will be in person, I am lacking time and I know is feasible because it is only.  You will only need to login into my [student portal] and perform the exam. I will compensate you of course and I am open to the price.  I left a copy of the textbook online and the final exam 2019 ( The professor said that it will be very similar). Please let me know if you decide to proceed with this or not."

Edit 1:
Believe it or not, I have just received yet another request from a different student independently of the first one.  

Edit 2:
I gathered the evidence I had and reported both students to the university administration.
If your institution has an honor code or similar description of the requirements for academic conduct, it may prescribe what you must do.  The solicitation of a "ringer" to take the exam may itself be an offense.  If there's a prescribed action, follow it.

If not, consider that an accusation of cheating by the professor necessarily creates an adversarial situation.  If you do report this to the professor, please copy the department head, dean, chairman of the honor council.  Copy at least one other person who can support the professor.  Include a copy of the student's email with your report, and retain your own copy for a very long time.

Do not respond to the student.  Chastisement will not do any good, and while the student is awaiting your reply, he or she isn't looking for someone else to take the exam.