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This panel aims to discuss the reasons presented by higher education students to justify the misuse of the internet in their academic activities, which may be recognized when parts of works are copied or even when entire works or papers from a different authorship are downloaded and delivered to faculty as an original work. The research has started in 2005 and by now 1.236 students from six different institutions were researched, in diverse areas in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. We observed that most of the students (exception to UAS Mazatlán – Mexico students – 63% admit plagiarism) deny they had ever delivered ready works downloaded from the internet as original works for the course’s assessment activities (only about 40% admit plagiarism). However, when asked about the possible reasons for that behavior, students point out the following causes: lack of time, laziness, convenience, irrelevance of the activity, lack of interest, perception that the teacher will not be rigid in the corrections, overload of activities, desperate for grade, perception that the ready content on the Internet is superior to that he could be able to develop himself etc. The reason cited most frequently by students of all institutions is the lack of time, followed by ease or convenience to get content already developed. The study follows in development, being in use in Portugal and contacts have already started to apply also in Cuba and in Toluca, Mexico, and other public and private institutions in Brazil.