Here's a great article that caught my attention.  I hope all you fake diploma lovers like it.  If you need a diploma company to do special work for you, please give us a call.  Yes, we actually answer the phone.

 

 

 

 

Michael Chesbro asked:


The prevalence of fraudulent, substandard, and illegal diplomas and degrees is an ever-increasing problem in the United States.

The United States Congress has found that the safety of the American public is particularly endangered by the sale of fraudulent degrees, and that the preeminence of the United States in science and engineering, as well as the prestige and reputation of American universities, is threatened by the trafficking of fraudulent degrees, diplomas, and certifications. (109th Congress, 2006)

Religious and theological degrees and other degrees from religiously affiliated institutions are some of the most commonly issued fraudulent, substandard and illegal credentials. The reason for the prevalence of fraudulent religious and theological degrees is the fact that anyone can incorporate a “church” by registering as a non-profit organization within a state. This “church” can then claim that its bylaws grant it the authority to issues certifications and degrees. Unfortunately many innocent people seeking a religious education fall victim to these “churches” issuing “degrees” that aren’t worth the paper the phony diploma is printed on.

These organizations issuing fraudulent and substandard religious degrees often claim that their action is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and guarantees of religious freedom. Simply put this is not the case. Religiously affiliated institutions are not exempt from state oversight under the First Amendment, nor do they gain the privilege of issuing fraudulent, substandard, and illegal degrees under protection of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

As an example of this, the Texas Attorney General has issued an opinion (JC-0200) that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not exempt religiously-affiliated institutions from the requirements under the Texas Education Code (Chapter 61, Subchapter G). The statute does not regulate any religious practice. Institutions that have a religious affiliation are free to exercise their religious beliefs. The law is written to regulate very narrowly those activities that are academic only, such as representations that the instruction is college level or that the student can receive a degree, and not to impinge on any religious practice or belief. In addition, institutions that do not wish to meet the academic standards of a higher educational institution are free to teach and prepare students for ministry positions as long as they do not assert that the level of their education is collegiate, either by offering degrees or calling the institution a college, university, or seminary. (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2007)

Unaccredited, religiously affiliated institutions are free to teach their religious doctrine as they see fit, but they may not legally represent themselves as colleges, universities, or seminaries; nor may they issues degrees or titles associated with degrees.

RELIGIOUS VS. ACADEMIC DEGREES

A commonly heard claim from institutions issuing fraudulent, substandard or illegal religious degrees is that there is a difference between a religious and an academic degree, and that the rules that govern academic degrees simply don’t apply to the issuance of a religious or theological degree.

We have already seen that in the opinion of the Texas Attorney General religiously-affiliated institutions are NOT exempt from meeting the requirements of the Texas Education Code, but what about legitimate religious schools and theological seminaries, how do they view their own degrees?

Of the 251 religiously based colleges, universities and theological seminaries currently recognized by the ‘Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada’ and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) all maintain an academic curriculum and structure and (based on a study of their web-sites and publications) consider their degrees to be an “academic degrees.”

The on-line encyclopedia ‘Wikipedia’ is a continually reviewed updated and reference source which can be edited by anyone. Wikipedia articles offer insight into the general public perception of a topic. When we look at the Wikipedia entries for Doctor of Theology and Doctor of Divinity we see that they are both defined as “academic degrees:

• “Doctor of Theology (in Latin Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated Th.D.) is a terminal academic degree in theology.” – (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Theology)

• “Doctor of Divinity (D.D., Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity.” – (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Divinity)

Clearly every legitimate theological seminary and college or university offering a theological program considers an academic curriculum and structure essential to their degrees, and the public impression of religiously based degrees is that they are in fact academic degrees.

One should be extremely wary of any entity that issues degrees with no academic curriculum or structure, claiming that its religious nature somehow exempts it from any academic standard or requirements. Such an entity is almost certainly issuing fraudulent and illegal degrees, or at best is issuing a substandard degree that confers no qualification or legitimate credential whatsoever, and may in fact be illegal to use in many states.

WARNING SIGNS

One should be particularly aware of degree scams that offer you credit for your life experience and current spiritual work, giving you an immediate doctorate degree in divinity, theology, or ministry all for a few hundred dollars and perhaps requiring a short paper of no more than a couple thousand words.

Another warning sign that an institution is issuing fraudulent, substandard, or illegal degrees is if they make it a point to explain why their degrees are “bonafide legitimate doctorate degrees.” While a truly legitimate college or university will normally identify its accreditation it is highly unlikely that it will have to stress why its degrees are “bonafide and legitimate”. Only an institution issuing fraudulent degrees needs to attempt to convince you of their legitimacy.

It is important to confirm the physical address of any school before you enroll. A legitimate college, university, or seminary will have a physical business address, even if it is set up to provide only on-line study. Any institution using a mail drop address is almost certainly issuing fraudulent and illegal degrees. You should be able to visit the institution that will grant your degree. If the offices of the college, university, or seminary are a back room or basement in somebody’s home, the degree is almost guaranteed to be substandard, and is most likely being illegally issued.

As we continued to look into the issue of addresses, we discovered that it is a violation of Federal law to use the Postal Service in conjunction with a business and request to be addressed by, any fictitious, false, or assumed title.

“Whoever, for the purpose of conducting, promoting, or carrying on by means of the Postal Service, any scheme or device… or any other unlawful business, uses or assumes, or requests to be addressed by, any fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or address or name other than his own proper name, or takes or receives from any post office or authorized depository of mail matter, any letter, postal card, package, or other mail matter addressed to any such fictitious, false, or assumed title, name, or address, or name other than his own proper name, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” (18 U.S.C. 1342)

Beware of any institution that offers a ‘one-time only tuition cost to you:’ ‘each doctorate degree is only $$$, get a second degree at half-price, $$$’, or any similar come-on where you simply purchase your degree for a flat fee.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (2005) “Most diploma mills charge a flat fee, require little course work, if any, and award a degree based solely on work or life experience.”

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (2007) cautioned that one of the warning signs that an institution may be offering fraudulent or substandard degree is charging “tuition and fees by the degree and not by the course. Whether charging $299 or $29,000, this is a sign of fraud. Legitimate colleges charge tuition by the credit hour (semester, quarter, or trimester) or by the course. Not all fraudulent or substandard institutions charge by the degree; some charge by the credit hour in order to appear legitimate. However, legitimate institutions do not charge by the degree.”

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education advises: when considering a degree provider, an answer of “yes” to one or more of the following questions may be an indicator of a diploma mill.

• Can degrees be purchased?

• Is there a claim of accreditation when there is no evidence of this status?

• Is there a claim of accreditation from a questionable accrediting organization?

• Does the operation lack state or federal licensure or authority to operate?

• Is little if any attendance required of students, either online or in class?

• Are few assignments required for students to earn credits?

• Is a very short period of time required to earn a degree?

• Are degrees available based solely on experiences or résumé review?

• Are there few requirements for graduation?

• Does the operation fail to provide any information about a campus or business location or physical address and rely only on a post office box?

• Does the operation fail to provide a list of its faculty and their qualifications?

• Does the operation have a name similar to other well-known colleges and universities?

• Does the operation make claims in its publications for which there is no evidence?

While it is not possible to list every institution engaged in a degree scam or issuing fraudulent, substandard, or illegal degrees; the state of Michigan maintains a list of schools that have been found to be most egregious in their issuance of fraudulent degrees.

The list can be found on-line at:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Non-accreditedSchools_78090_7.pdf.

Degrees from any entity on this list will not be accepted by the Michigan Department of Civil Service as satisfying any educational requirements or job specifications. Even if you don’t live or work in Michigan, any institution on the Michigan list is highly questionable, and would most likely be found fraudulent, substandard, or illegal if investigated by any other state.

The state of Maine maintains a similar list on-line at: http://www.maine.gov/education/highered/Non-Accredited/UnaccreditedSchools-112706.pdf

The state of Oregon is a leader in the fight against fraudulent, substandard and illegally issued degrees. Oregon maintains a list of entities issuing invalid degrees on-line at: http://www.osac.state.or.us:80/oda/unaccredited.aspx.

In addition to checking the Michigan, Maine and Oregon lists of unaccredited institutions, one should also check the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) – Database of Institutions and Programs Accredited by Recognized United States Accrediting Organizations, on-line at: http://www.chea.org/search/default.asp and the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (USDE) on-line at: http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

The CHEA and USDE databases list institutions that are recognized as having met certain standards in their education programs.

While being listed in the CHEA or USDE database doesn’t guarantee that a degree will be suited to any specific purpose, an institution that issues degrees and is not listed in either one these databases is at best highly questionable.

STATE HIGHER EDUCATION BOARDS

Next, contact the higher education board in the state where the “degree-granting institution” is located and get the board’s opinion of the institution in question. Every state has some type of governing body for higher education. When considering enrolling in any college, university, or seminary, where there may be a question about its legitimacy, it pays to contact the governing body for higher education in the state in which the institution is located and ask whether that institution is recognized by the state and whether the degrees they issue are legitimate.

At the time this article was written the U.S. Department of Education maintained a list of State Higher Education Agencies on-line at:

http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov:80/Programs/EROD/org_list.cfm?category_ID=SHE

LAWS

Several states are beginning to recognize the problem of fraudulent, substandard, and illegally issued degrees and are passing laws to combat this crime.

Currently it is illegal in North Dakota, New Jersey, Texas, Nevada, Washington and Maine to use unaccredited degrees. It is illegal in Indiana to use an unaccredited doctorate. Other states are considering laws to protect their citizens from diploma mills and substandard degrees.

In Washington State, issuing a false academic credential is a class C felony; and knowingly using a false academic credential is a gross misdemeanor. (RCW 9A.60.070)

Florida Statute 817.567 — Making False Claims of Academic Degree or Title.– provides that no person in the state may claim, either orally or in writing, to possess an academic degree, as defined in s. 1005.02, or the title associated with said degree, unless the person has, in fact, been awarded said degree from an institution that is: (a) Accredited by a regional or professional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation… [or run by a state or by the Federal government, or for schools outside the U.S. has been validated by an accrediting agency approved by the United States Department of Education as equivalent to the baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degree conferred by a regionally accredited college or university in the United States...]

and

(2) No person awarded a doctorate degree from an institution not listed in subsection (1) shall claim in the state, either orally or in writing, the title “Dr.” before the person’s name or any mark, appellation, or series of letters, numbers, or words, such as, but not limited to, “Ph.D.,” “Ed.D.,” “D.N.,” or “D.Th.,” which signifies, purports, or is generally taken to signify satisfactory completion of the requirements of a doctorate degree, after the person’s name.

LIFE EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

According to Roger H. Schmedlen (2006), writing in the Michigan Lawyers Weekly, “Some unsophisticated would-be experts may truly believe it is possible for them to obtain a legitimate degree without attending classes or performing any study activity–simply by using credit from lifelong career experience. . . . It isn’t!”

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board warns that another of the warning signs of fraud is an institution that “offers to grant a degree or generous amounts of credit for life experience. Claims that one can receive a complete degree for one’s life experience are a sure sign of fraud. Calculating credit awarded by years of service in a particular job or function is also a sign of fraud. Legitimate colleges that award credit for life experience require extensive evidence that the experience is the equivalent of coursework taught at a college. The average legitimate award by that means will be approximately 12 to 18 semester credit hours (about one semester). Many students who are assessed receive no college credit.”

While one should understand that no legitimate accreditor enforces any particular theological understanding, doctrine, or theology; it is just as important to understand that states have a responsibility to ensure that the public is not put at risk by fraudulently issued degrees and credentials. Ask yourself whether you would trust a medical doctor who received an immediate medical degree based on life experience. Would you trust a psychiatrist whose degree was based on a 4 to 8 page paper? No? Well, if you will not trust your physical and mental health to a person with a fraudulent or substandard degree, why would you trust someone with this type of degree to guide you in your spiritual and religious well-being?

John Bear (2007) offers an emphatic warning concerning fraudulent degrees: “We must warn you, as emphatically as we can, that it is very risky to buy a fake degree or to claim to have a degree that you have not earned. It is like putting a time bomb in your resume. It could go off at any time, with dire consequences. The people who sell fake degrees will probably never suffer at all, but the people who buy them often suffer mightily. And — particularly if their “degree” is health-related — their clients may be seriously harmed.”

We consider a religious degree to be health-related in any case where the degree-holder is involved in offering counseling or spiritual guidance. One’s spiritual health is just as important as one’s physical, mental and emotional health.

CONCLUSION

Fraudulent, substandard, and illegal degrees endanger the safety of the American public. Persons who use a fraudulent, substandard, or illegal degree and provide health-related services, to include counseling, providing life-skills and religious guidance or therapy, put the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of their clients at serious risk.

Using a fraudulent, substandard, or illegally issued degree is likely to have dire consequences for the person who uses it, both in employment and licensing issues and in matters of trust and integrity. It is in fact illegal in several states to use an unaccredited, fraudulent, substandard or illegally issued degree.

A serious question should arise in regard to any individual’s integrity and competence, who claims a fraudulent, substandard, or illegally issued degree regardless of any other credentials or experience that person may possess.

FOOTNOTES

109th Congress – Diploma Integrity Protection Act of 2006 – H.R. 6006 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc109/h6008_ih.xml

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada

http://www.ats.edu/

Bear, John, Quackwatch, Degree Mills,on-line at: http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/dm0.html (May 2007)

Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

http://www.chea.org/

Federal Trade Commission, “Facts for Business Guide on Avoiding Fake Degree”, February 1, 2005 on-line at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/02/diplomamills.shtm

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education – http://www.okhighered.org/student-center/college-stdnts/academic/diploma-mills.shtml

Religious Freedom Restoration Act (42 U.S.C. § 2000bb (1993)

Schmedlen, Roger H. CPP, CFE, CII, MIPI – Michigan Lawyers Weekly, “Doctor Who? Avoiding Fraudulent Opinion Experts”, April 24, 2006 Edition; on-line at: http://www.securityexpertonline.com/fraudulent_security_expert_article.htm

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Frequently Asked Questions, May 2007 http://www.thecb.state.tx.us//AAR/PrivateInstitutions/FAQ.cfm

 

 

 

 

 

 (CN) - An online high school that falsely claims to be accredited charges students $250 for fake diplomas, according to a RICO class action in Detroit Federal Court. The class claims Belford High School refuses to return tuition to students who realize they have been duped.
     The three named plaintiffs say Belford H.S. and nine other defendants falsely claim to have accreditation from the International Accrediting Agency for Online Universities - a defendant - and the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation - another defendant.
     The IAAOU and UCOEA are either "utterly fictitious entities or active participants in this fraud," the class says. Neither one is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, according to the complaint.
     The Texas-based online high school also falsely claims to have a campus, as depicted on its Web site, and falsely claims to offer "exciting and prestigious job prospects to its students," the class says.
     The three named plaintiffs say they found Belford while searching for information online about high school diplomas and GED programs. They say they passed Belford's purported "equivalency test" and paid tuition, then received several documents in the mail, including an illegitimate "diploma," signed by the school's so-called officials.
     Plaintiff Evelyn Reisdorff says her employer rejected the Belford diploma, and when she contacted the Texas Department of Education, it told her that Belford High School was a scam.
     She says students who complain to Belford are told to "complete numerous steps designed to discourage them from pursuing refunds." Even after they complete those steps, Belford still denies its students refunds, the class claims.
     Belford University - another defendant - has been offering bogus college programs and illegitimate college diplomas since at least 2003, the suit adds.
     The class wants all the defendants and their allegedly bogus "accrediting" institutes, shut down, and more than $5 million in damages for fraud, breach of contract, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, RICO violations and civil conspiracy.
     Also named as defendants are Education Services Provider Inc.; Belford H.S. and Belford U "president" Melville P. Crowe; Belford H.S. "superintendent" Dan Robertson; Belford H.S. "administration head" Sydney Goldsmith; its "registrar" William J. McTiernan; and "secretary of the school board" Ken Calvert.
     Lead counsel is Thomas Howlett of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Eight Washington State Patrol troopers who used diplomas from fake schools to get pay raises will be suspended, but not fired. Friday’s announcement prompted one local legislator to complain that the troopers are getting a slap on the wrist, but another said the agency’s own oversight is at fault.

Sgt. Chris Sweet, who is assigned to the Kelso detachment, is among the eight troopers who will be disciplined.

The State Patrol reversed itself Friday and decided to modify an agency recommendation from August that the troopers be fired.

State Patrol spokesman Jeff DeVere said additional investigation revealed there was no clear intent by the troopers to deceive the agency into higher pay because they did not know the schools were unaccredited. But, he said, the troopers certainly showed poor judgment in submitting the diplomas.

“It was very clear in the decision-makers’ minds that there was no intent (to defraud), but there was poor judgment. That is why the contemplated termination was changed to suspension,” DeVere said Friday.

The troopers have been on paid administrative leave since October of last year and will return to work next week. The troopers have paid the state back the raises they received as a result of submitting bogus degrees, and their pay while on leave did not include those raises, DeVere said.

“These guys have not been working for a year. We have to ensure their training is up-to-date, that they are still qualified to drive and carry weapons,” DeVere said.

He was not certain when the suspensions, which range from three to 10 days without pay, will be served.

Sweet, commander of the Kelso detachment, is a 17-year veteran of the state patrol who was honored in 1998 as Trooper of the Year. In 2006, the Kelso unit was named Detachment of the Year. He received a five-day suspension, DeVere reported. Sweet could not immediately be reached for comment Friday through a message left with the local WSP detachment.

The state patrol investigation began after federal agents shut down a diploma mill in Spokane. In February, the Thurston County prosecutor decided not to file criminal charges.

The prosecutor said that even though the officers admitted to collecting extra pay as a result of their phony degrees, investigators found no intent to defraud the government.

Troopers can boost their pay 2 percent by earning a two-year degree or 4 percent with a four-year degree, and DeVere said the troopers believed they were pursuing legitimate college degrees.

Still, the investigation may raise questions about whether the troopers should have known the degrees were illegitimate.

DeVere said the degrees required no coursework or typical academic effort. Rather, applicants reported life experiences and prior on-the-job training. The schools evaluated the resume and told applicants what degree they qualified for and how much a diploma would cost, DeVere said.

Sweet, DeVere said, obtained a degree from Almeda University, which advertises itself as offering a “life experience degree program.” It’s Web page asserts that “life experience is the greatest teacher.”

Given the ease of the process, DeVere was asked, shouldn’t the troopers have known the diplomas were bogus?

“We certainly did everything we could to determine what the facts were,” he answered. “We spent a tremendous amount of time to do just that. It was determined that the diplomas turned in were not valid. We also spent a lot of time determining whether we had intent (to defraud) on the employees part, or poor judgment.

“Intent could lead to integrity issues, and integrity issues, in our mind, you can’t fix them. Mistakes, or poor judgement — we can rehabilitate for those in most circumstances. These diplomas made it through our agency review process. They (the troopers) were paid. The department has partial responsibility for this. We have since fixed our review process to make sure this does not occur again. “Employees still have responsibilities. They should review this kind of thing. If it is too good to be true, they need to look at it more closely.”

State Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview, said “I have a hard time believing that, among eight people, no one knew that (the degrees) weren’t kosher.”

Though he didn’t think the troopers should lose their careers over the incident, he said the several days suspension amounts “to a slap on the wrist.”

State Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, said a key question in the case is whether the WSP does an adequate job determining whether degrees are legitimate.

“Was it the troopers trying to defraud the state, or poor policy procedures on behalf the agency?” Orcutt asked “ If the blame is on the agency, should the officer be suspended at all?”

If their supervisors approved the raises after reviewing the degrees, Orcutt said, “it’s kind of hard to hold them (the troopers) accountable.”

In addition to Sweet, the other troopers who will be suspended are Trooper Dennis Tardiff of Seattle, Trooper Spike Unruh, Trooper Dan Mann of Spokane, and Sgt. Robert Brusseau, Sgt. Jason Linn, Trooper Gabriel Olson and Trooper Brian Ensley, both of Vancouver. In addition to the eight, two other troopers who were accused have resigned.

 Here's an interesting article that I found this morning.  It's not directly related to fake diplomas, but interesting anyways.

 

 Operating on the theory that it takes a thief to steal from a thief, a group of internet scammers has been targeting students who illegally download music, books, and video, writes Kim Clark for US News & World Report.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has reported on an apparently bogus collections agency that sent out letters to Bucknell students demanding US$500 to settle the students' alleged illegal downloads. That's a new twist on an old strategy of targeting college students.

Prosecutors say there are at least six common scams students should watch out for - fake scholarship promises, dodgy student loans, untrustworthy counsellors, illegal downloads, diploma mills, and term paper and other cheating supplies.
Full report on the US News & World Report site 

 Here's an interesting story I read this morning.  Someone is Russia is charging $40,000 for a fake diploma.  What a rip!

y Peter S. Green

Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Russian police arrested a gang they said was selling fake diplomas from colleges including Harvard University for as much as $40,000, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The gang was uncovered in July by investigators from the Economic Security Department of Russia’s interior ministry, Alexei Shyshko, the unit’s deputy chief, told the news agency today.

An investigator involved in the case, Alexander Khazin, told the news agency it’s difficult to bring to trial a man standing on the street hawking diplomas.

“A large group of fraudsters are involved in the business, and much time is required to discover them,” Khazin told RIA Novosti. He said a man trying to sell a diploma from the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics for 300,000 rubles ($10,210) was detained in Moscow earlier this year.

Harvard, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, charges undergraduates $48,868 a year for tuition, room, board and a student services fee.

A spokesman for the school didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

This came to our email today.  I really do like to hear these kind of comments.  The team here does an awesome job.  "Your Welcome" is our response.

 Hi there!

I just wanted to leave some feedback for you.

I picked up my package today, and I must say you did an EXCELLENT job.

It's nice to have something to put up on the wall now when my family

comes to visit!

I just want to say that the diploma was perfection and your

communication was excellent every step of the way.  Thank you for all of

your help! :)

Also I have reccomended you services to my friend (I took out the name) and she should be

contacting you shorty to get a copy for herself too so thats some more

business for you!

Thanks again!

 

I've see ads for Belford to get a high school equivalency diplomas.  That's the slimiest kind of "fake diploma" company.  Their intention is to make people think they offer a "real" product, but it's not.  To add credibility to their stie, they included links to their "accredidation" agency -- which is just another fly-by-night company that they invented.  Sad situation.  Make no mistake, Phony Diplomas are just that. 

Indianapolis - The Indiana Department of Education has a state-wide warning regarding high school equivalency diplomas.

It's prompted more worries for one Indiana school about laid-off workers taking the bait. For adults who need a GED, a subtle bait and switch - replacing a "D" with an "L" in the name of one high school - could mean failing marks with potential employers or colleges.

That's because "Belford High School" with an "L" is bad news.

According to career counselor Norm Taylor, "Many people have fallen for this and it's unfortunate because we're in such a hard economic time."

Taylor oversees the GED program at the North Lawrence Career Center at Bedford High School. Nearly 100 adults earn diplomas there each year, but others are getting tangled up in a web of quick deception.

"That's the most so far, $400, that I've talked to," Taylor told Eyewitness News.

A viewer named Jamie tells Eyewitness News she went online to Belford High School where she paid $249 for a diploma. Later, she was denied admission to college because the diploma was a fake.

"I'm afraid our person's a victim of a scam," said Duane Martin, the Career and Technology Director and North Lawrence.

If she had come to Martin and Taylor's program in Bedford, she would have only payed $60. But she would have had to wait four weeks for state results.  

A warning from the American Council on Education, known as the ACE,  is posted on the state's web site, alerting students that they can not earn a GED online or through correspondence courses.
    
"You can go online and get training for GED and you might even do some pre-GED work," explained Martin. But the bottom line is, legitimate GED diplomas are issued by the state. There are no shortcuts.
   
The ACE says, "Any services that purport to offer a GED credential through any other means are NOT affiliated...may be dubious value and may deliver product that is not accepted."

"You're going to have to study, you're going to have to be prepared, and you're going to have to come to an accredited state and that's the only way to get the GED," Taylor warned one last time.

There are 70 GED testing centers across the state, including at North Lawrence. Anyone 17 years of age or older can take a scheduled test.

The message the state wants to get out is that you CANNOT earn a high school equivalency diploma online. Those who have lost money to scams can contact the Department of Education.

Here's an article I found this morning.  Why the big deal about price?  As if cheaper is more important than realism.  Good stuff isn't cheap and cheap stuff isn't good.  Nuff said.  Here's one of our custom embossed seals.

 

$40 to purchase fake diploma in China

The market rate to purchase a fake university diploma in the streets of China is between 200 to 300 yuan ($29-$44).  In 2002, Chinese educational authorities estimated that 500,000 had forged degrees.  University officials in France stated that around 3 to 4 percent of all applicants to their schools were found to have held counterfeit degrees.

Source:  AFP, “China learns lesson from fake degrees”, Google News, April 28, 2009.

Here's an interesting article on fake diplomas in China.  You could "buy a fake diploma on the street corner."  Really.  The fake diplomas we make take dozens of hours of layout and design.  Don't even get me started on printing.  We'll usually print your diploma multiple times to make sure all the elements like ink coverage, embossing and seal placement are just perfect.  We are WAY proud of the quality of our work.

 

BEIJING - ONE hour and about US$40 (S$60) is all it takes to get a fake degree in China, but the chances of fooling an employer or foreign university have diminished following a crackdown in recent years.

While the trade in counterfeit Hermes handbags or Windows software is well known, marriage certificates, driving licences and diplomas are also seen as fair game by the forgers. Measures put in place by the Chinese authorities have made it possible to limit cheating and many counterfeit diplomas are detected by authentication procedures.

But allegations of a trade in diplomas intended for Chinese students at several French universities, if confirmed, would echo a widespread practice in China, where access to higher education is selective and a degree opens doors to a career.

The crackdown on counterfeiting may have driven the trade away from the city centres but in certain districts it is still easy to track down forgers. In Beijing, they can be found in the suburbs.

Half an hour after taking a photograph and details, the forger returns with the requested diploma which costs between 200 and 300 yuan for a bachelor's or master's degree, depending on the fame of the university, the seal of which is reproduced on the forgery. This also includes report cards.

'I got a false diploma from the Beijing Commerce Institute in 2001 for 100 yuan,' a young executive said.

'I had it after waiting for about 30 minutes in front of an alley where many migrant workers live.' But since the installation of computerised anti-fraud systems by the education ministry, provincial authorities and tertiary institutes, getting a government job with a forged diploma has become increasingly difficult.

A growing number of foreign companies and universities that welcome Chinese students also systematically check the authenticity of diplomas.

'All the papers are checked. You find about 3-4 per cent of diplomas are forgeries' among prospective students wishing to study in France, according to a person involved in the university exchanges who asked not to be identified.

'Before 2003, you could buy a fake diploma on the street corner,' the source said. In 2002, the education ministry estimated that at least 500,000 people had forged degrees. Developed countries then began establishing procedures to check the authenticity of diplomas, the source added. -- AFP