We’ve all gotten them: emails letting us know that for a fee and with no time in a classroom, we can receive the degree we deserve based on our life experience. Sound too good to be true? You bet it is. The degrees issued aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on, and now the US Government is going after these bogus schools.
Type “life experience degree” into any search engine and you might be shocked at what you find. Many of the websites look professional, and some even claim to have accreditation (which is fake as well). Still, others will even verify these fake degrees for third parties, such as employers.
One of the problems is that while it is illegal to represent yourself with a fake degree, it’s not illegal to purchase one. The US Department of Justice has compiled a list of 9,612 people who together paid over $7 million purchasing fake and counterfeit high school diplomas and college degrees from a diploma mill operating out of Washington State. The Spokesman Review obtained the list and posted it on their website.
The statistics are a bit frightening. On the list, 130 people had email address extensions with .mil, which identifies them as being in the military; 17 people had email addresses identifying them as being in government; and 39 were identified as attending or working for an educational institution. It’s believed that these numbers may be higher since people often use their personal email addresses.
This is one list from one diploma mill. Unfortunately, there seem to be countless bogus institutions popping up all over. The good news is that eight people who operated the diploma mill out of Washington have been indicted and convicted of federal crimes. Leader and 58 year old high school drop out, Dixie Ellen Randock, was given three years in prison.
The US Department of Homeland Security is considering pursuing legal charges against approximately 300 federal employees who purchased bogus degrees.
Conducting a thorough background check through a reputable Consumer Reporting Agency can help employers weed out applicants with fake degrees. It’s one thing to verify that an applicant is in possession of a degree; it’s another to verify that degree is legitimate.
The list of names can be viewed here.
