Re: Fake Diplomas

[Joseph Tam <tam () MATH UBC CA>]

On Tue, 11 Dec 2018, Hart, Michael wrote:

> 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?/

Pulled down when I checked an hour ago.

Our public broadcaster aired a consumer protection show highlighting
diplomas mills, a related industry.  Many of these fake institutions
trace back to Pakistani based firm (Axact).

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHTg5zzFEKE

They've compiled (slightly out of date) list of insitutions that are
Axact creations.  There was one that managed to obtain a .edu TLD
(pcu.edu), but apparently, they're gone.

        https://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/blog/list-of-schools-linked-to-axact

There's no shortage of people who tout them openly.  For example, take
a random one and do a google search

        "Payne Springs University" site:linkedin.com

        (Even though I selected this at random, one "cybersecurity"
        expert is near the top!)

So that's the flip side of this shady business: you have to protect your
own organizations's reputation, and you have to closely scrutinize for
hirees with degrees from the fake ones.

Of course, fraudsters can rip off your institution's prestige in other
ways, like this notortious academic employment spammer who smacked our
logos (and maybe your's too) on their web pages.

        https :// computeroxy . com /

Joseph Tam <tam () math ubc ca>