Re: Fake Diplomas

["Giacobe, Nick" <nxg13 () PSU EDU>]

“In some cases, they advertise that they are fake diplomas, and in that case, I don’t have a problem because they’re 
being honest.”

Seriously?  They’re being “honest” about being dishonest, so you’re ok just letting it go at that?  As long as these 
characters are up front that they are fraudsters, that’s ok with you?  Here’s what they say on their “about us” page.
About us

Buy a degree or buy a diploma is more and more easier online. However, we need to choose carefully if we want to buy 
high quality degree.Buy diploma, buy degree, first, we need to find a reliable company first. There is no doubt that we 
are the top one in this field. Although many companies can make diploma, make degree, few of them can make customers 
satisfied.Looking back our company’s history<https://www.fakecertificatemall.com/index.html>, we already have many 
designers with rich experience. They have many years’ design experience. They are very skillful in making degree and 
making diploma. Besides, we already have advanced hologram crafts, and we can make well the seal , Bronzing, laser, and 
even a watermark. Of course, we also welcome customers to ask us to make hologram and laser. Greater quantity, cheaper 
price.Are you struggling to get a good paying job… because you don’t have a college degree… and other job candidates 
(who are less qualified than you) seem to YANK the good jobs right out of your hands? Have you hit the “glass ceiling” 
at your job… because you don’t have a Bachelor, Masters or Doctorate Degree to MOVE UP HIGHER IN THE RANKS at your job… 
(and you’re stuck with low-paying income for the next 5, 10 or 15 years of your life)? Are you too busy to get your 
college degree… because you’re busy paying bills, working a 9 to 5, providing for your precious family? Do you feel 
isolated, stuck, inadequate with your life’s progress… because people your friends and family have degrees… but you 
don’t… and there’s nothing you can do about it – because you’re too old to learn all the “new stuff”? Have you reached 
a point in life where you know in the bottom of your heart you could live a better life, earn more money, be more 
successful if people would just “give you a chance” – WITHOUT a degree?
I would hope that someone would at least get the Wordpress site yanked down. I submitted a complaint under the 
“abusive” category since the “infringing on my copyright” led me down a DMCA pathway, which really isn’t the right kind 
of thing.  This activity is “illegal” and therefore violates the “terms of service” – for which they do not have a 
radio button choice.

If more people from different institutions also reported this same site – there is some hope that “every single one is 
read (by a real human being),” and those human beings actually do something.

Maybe your university attorneys should contact them via legal () wordpress com<mailto:legal () wordpress com> or file 
an action against Wordpress itself for hosting a site selling illegal materials.  After being notified of such, that 
puts Wordpress in the exciting position as being party to the fraud. I don’t think they really want to be in that place 
– so the first cease and desist letter they get will probably have the desired effect.

I’ve reported it to our General Counsel’s office. I hope you do the same with yours.  However, I completely realize 
that this is simply a game of whack-a-mole. This site will come down and they’ll start up a new one.  I suspect that 
this is the normal course of business for these sites. By the way, as far as I can tell, this site has only been up 
since Nov 11, 2018.

By the way, this particular group is not new.  If you use the language in the “about us” page as a search string, you 
find that this exact text is used by several sites and has been for over two years.   This blog 
posting<https://wonkhe.com/blogs/registrarism-faking-it-made-up-universities-and-degrees/> identifies this particular 
string of fraudsters from 2016 from a site then listed at http://www.iricocp.com/ (which now auto-closes when you open 
the site).  However, if you open the site on The Internet Archive, you can see it was pretty active in 2016 and offered 
that you could get your diploma in a few as 10 days from their service.  
https://web.archive.org/web/20160116154331/http://www.iricocp.com/<https://web.archive.org/web/20160116154331/http:/www.iricocp.com/>

What can we “really” do about it?  Probably nothing. There would have to be an extensive investigation, court filings, 
cases, trials without defendants - - because all of these actors are probably in no-extradition countries.  So, take it 
to your legal office, but I’d expect them to roll their eyes into the backs of the heads and say – sure – let me put it 
on the pile with the other ones.  That doesn’t mean we should ignore it and do nothing. We should at least rip down the 
sites we can – like this Wordpress site.  There is no reason that shouldn’t be taken down now.

-- Nick

---
Nicklaus A. Giacobe, Ph.D.
Director of Undergraduate Programs and Assistant Teaching Professor
Phone: 814-865-8233
College of Information Sciences and Technology
Penn State University
E333 Westgate Building
University Park, PA 16802

From: The EDUCAUSE Security Community Group Listserv <SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU> On Behalf Of Baillio, Aaron
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 4:40 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: Re: [SECURITY] Fake Diplomas

We use IntSights, but I know others can do it.  DigitalShadows and other threat intel platforms.

Aaron

From: The EDUCAUSE Security Community Group Listserv <SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU<mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV 
EDUCAUSE EDU>> On Behalf Of Gomez, Joshua
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 3:29 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU<mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
Subject: Re: [SECURITY] Fake Diplomas

Aaron,

What is the alerting service you use for this?

Josh


From: The EDUCAUSE Security Community Group Listserv [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] On Behalf Of Baillio, 
Aaron
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 4:22 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU<mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
Subject: Re: [SECURITY] Fake Diplomas

We have a service that alerts us to these from time to time.  Often they’ll be on a random site like you listed or a 
service listed on Pinterest or something like that.  In some cases, they advertise that they are fake diplomas, and in 
that case, I don’t have a problem because they’re being honest.

It’s the ones posing as legitimate that trouble me and we try to issue a take down notice but in many cases it’s either 
not an option or not available.  So, we’re concerned with it, but can’t always effectively address it.

B. Aaron Baillio
Deputy CISO
University of Oklahoma, IT Security
O: 405-325-7948
C: 254-400-6404

From: The EDUCAUSE Security Community Group Listserv <SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU<mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV 
EDUCAUSE EDU>> On Behalf Of Hart, Michael
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 2:25 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU<mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
Subject: [SECURITY] Fake Diplomas

Our Marketing team and Legal forwarded me a link to a site offering fake MSU Denver diplomas:

            
degreemall.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/how-to-buy-a-fake-degree-from-metropolitan-state-university-of-denver-online?/

The parent site degreemall.wordpress.com seems to cover a lot of institutions.  I’ve reached out to the 
en.wordpress/abuse page, but they are missing a category for fraud/illegal activity.

Has anyone else had this reported for their institution?  If so, have you had any luck getting a response from 
Wordpress?



Mike Hart  | CISO, Director of ITS Security, Infrastructure, and Networking
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Information Technology Services
Campus Box 96, P.O. Box 173362, Denver, CO 80217-3362
Admin Building - 1201 5th Street 480E  Denver, CO 80204
303-615-0541 (Office)
303-352-7548 (Help Desk)
mhart20 () msudenver edu<mailto:mhart20 () msudenver edu> | 
www.msudenver.edu/technology<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttp-3A__www.msudenver.edu_technology%26d%3DDwMGaQ%26c%3DqKdtBuuu6dQK9MsRUVJ2DPXW6oayO8fu4TfEHS8sGNk%26r%3DqFQzCTOmPXQnJcsnnqPUqQ%26m%3DQl5c8aICHyQ7-K3H-wZq4DJx5hn3ubKvCjTRdQ54TaQ%26s%3DJVVyyk4OmyzL1lYJ99xqReEyW0ptC8C_9hAHDr_l3w4%26e%3D&data=02%7C01%7Cnxg13%40psu.edu%7C487fcb21f83a425acc3508d65fb137d1%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C636801612087080673&sdata=M6BGh5BQtl3v4I77jixRxOouAbDD2M6NNaLJnyJaVjM%3D&reserved=0>

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