University Degree Scams and Diploma Mills

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There are people who actually believe that this is a legitimate way of obtaining a degree without studying for it. But just ask yourself, how can this be legitimate if you did not actually earned it? Below is a list of the main dangers of fake university degrees:

Employers may place completely unskilled and unqualified persons in sensitive positions. Just think about the implications and dangers when someone employs a person who bought a degree in structural engineering, but doesn't know a thing about engineering at all. Imagine a brain surgeon with a fake degree, the results can be catastrophic.
Not all employers verify the validity of university degrees. The degree/diploma mills that issue these fake degrees have dedicated phone operators who will verify the legitimacy of these degrees when employers call them. Some diploma mills use names that are very similar to respectable and well-known accredited universities and colleges. Other mills even develop counterfeit degrees looking like the real thing. So it may not be always that easy to spot a fake degree and that is very dangerous.
People who are placed in professional positions can do a lot of harm to the general public. An unqualified doctor can cause the deaths of many people before it is discovered that he/she has a fake degree.
In some countries it is a criminal offence to be in the possession of a fake degree and is punishable by a fine and imprisonment.
It can even pose a security risk, allowing terrorists to obtain visas and security clearances.
These fake diplomas and degrees may give unqualified people an unfair advantage over others who earned their degree honestly through hard work. A qualified person may loose out on a job opportunity when an employer chooses the candidate with the fake degree. This leads to unfair employment and promotion practices in the workplace, which have a negative impact on any economy.
These scams may only be a ploy to steal your money and make you a victim of identity theft, much like the infamous 419 Scam/Advance Fee Fraud Scam.

The bottom line is, buying a fake degree is fraudulent and downright criminal. Everyone agrees that it is illegal to buy a driver's licence without actually taking any tests, so why is there the perception that the purchase of a fake university degree is a legitimate practice?

For more information on University Degree Scams visit Centre for Information on Diploma Mills and read the following articles

Below are links to copies of typical University Degree scam e-mails. Note that the original formatting of the e-mail was preserved to give you a good idea of what the e-mail looks like when you open it. The actual telephone numbers were [DELETED] for security reasons.

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