Types of Fake Degrees and Diplomas
Degrees Created to Dupe
Current income data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau supports the claim that a college degree exponentially increases an individual’s annual income. Financial prowess is a culturally desirable attribute in American culture. When a college degree can be directly tied to money, it is not so difficult to see the incentive, or consumer desire/demand, that singularly drives the business of counterfeit diploma mills.
Diploma mills typically make a practice of posing as legitimate universities that prey on frustrated professionals and down-on-their-luck under-employed and under-educated individuals. The hard sell promises quick and easy degrees that will benefit your resume and gain you career notice. In most cases, consumers must only paste in a copy of their resume, personal information, and any extra training or applicable experience, choose a degree level they’d like and pay the “tuition.” But what kinds of degrees are available?
High School Diplomas and GEDs
According to the Census data, an individual wage earner that does not have a high school diploma or a GED earns under $20,000 a year. Add a high school diploma to that person’s resume and you’ve increased their earning potential by almost $10,000 more a year. That’s empowerment. If you were offered a no-work-required high school diploma in exchange for less than $200 and if you believed it could buy you financial freedom, would you turn it down? Plenty of American consumers say no, they would not turn it down.
Most high school diplomas and GED credentials are available from online fake degree sites. Buyers have the option to add on official transcripts, choose a U.S. high school from where they’d like their diploma, and add on a verification service. Verification services “authenticate” your credentials should an employer call to check. This directly undermines the process of a background check, which is discussed in the article, “Why Background Checks Don’t Work.”
College Degrees
Believe it or not, you can buy a college degree of almost any kind. The Census data showed that wage earners with a Bachelor’s degree earned nearly twice that of their high school diploma-toting neighbors. Make that a Master’s or Ph.D. and the annual income jumps to over $75,000 a year.
Next Day Diploma is a fake degree supplier. The online site guarantees your “college replica diploma” by next day delivery. Choose your college of choice from among dozens of popular and well-known U.S. colleges and universities. Choose from dozens of Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. degrees. Want to buy a Master’s in Chemical Engineering? How about a Master’s in Business Administration, one of the most popular legitimate degrees sought by business professionals everywhere? For diploma and transcripts the cost is only $263.
Novelty and Replica Degrees
Marketing design and jargon make or break sites like Next Day Diploma. The site is clean and professionally created, which can automatically buy a consumer’s trust. Site owners have made certain to use the term “novelty” to describe their products. Next Day Diploma is careful to avoid any mention of misuse of documents. However, they instead imply the authenticity of the degrees and transcripts, emphasize the use of realistic materials and make sure you have it the following day. They steer clear of the fact that they know their products are used to pad resumes and sweeten professional credentials.
Phony degrees come in any field and degree level you can think of. Businesses are savvy when it comes to persuading consumers; at the same time they make certain to steer clear of blame.
