Only three pupils from Angus and Fife have been caught cheating in exams in the last five years despite national detections rising by more than a quarter.
A Freedom of Information investigation into cheating in SQA exams across Courier Country has shown staff at Angus schools collared just one cheat, and Fife just two, between 2008 and last year.
The authorities were the only two council areas to provide statistics, with Dundee, Perth and Kinross, Clackmannanshire and Stirling all failing to give figures.
The SQA handed out penalties for malpractice to 324 cheats across Scotland last year; an increase from 257 in 2008.
However, the figures show that of the 1,264 pupils have been caught cheating in the past four years, more than a third (448) were let off with only a warning.
Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: “These figures highlight that, all too often, pupils found to be cheating evade serious sanction.
“This undermines the vitally important message that cheating in any form is completely and utterly unacceptable.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s plagiarism, using a mobile phone or sneaking notes into the exam room; cheating in any form has to clamped down on.
“If it isn’t, it completely undermines the vast majority of pupils who work incredibly hard in preparation for exams.
“The SQA should adopt a tougher stance on this, which would send an extremely strong message to those considering conning examiners in the future.”
A total of nine pupils were removed from exams in Angus (three) and Fife (six) on suspicion of cheating over the five years.
The SQA wrote to the parents of a 15-year-old Angus pupil found to have cheated in a prelim exam and also issued him with a warning.
One of the Fife cheats received no award from the SQA due to misconduct while the other was sanctioned with a deduction of marks.
Fife Council’s executive spokesman for education, Bryan Poole, said: ”In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have cheating of any sort but I think we all know that we haven’t yet managed to create the perfect world.
“To have only six pupils removed from exams since 2008 on suspicion of cheating appears to me to be a pretty remarkable testament to the seriousness our young people take the examination process.
“My personal view is that we adults are sometimes just a bit too anxious to criticise and look for faults with our young people.
“If there had been hundreds of young people removed from exams on suspicion of cheating we would, no doubt, have calls for a public inquiry into the falling standards of our young people.
“That we have had only six and I’m not in any way being complacent is surely worthy of some praise for the thousands of young people who have taken exams in Fife since 2008.”
Of the 324 cases of cheating in Scotland last year, 138 pupils had their external marks cancelled while more than 50 had their final grades revised and 44 were given a warning and lost their right to appeal.
A spokeswoman for Angus Council said: “We work with the SQA, who have very robust arrangements for exams including use of invigilators, who are not teachers from the school, control of mobile devices etc.
“For prelim exams, we ensure similar arrangements are in place. We are pleased to note that the figure for Angus is so low.”