Faux diplômes - Fraudulent educational documents and degrees

Transnational
Seminar Workshop 1:
Fraudulent educational
documents and
degrees
Jessica Stannard
Samer Alzaidy
Topics
Reasons for forging documents
Most common examples of fraudulent
documents
Types of fraud
Detection
Prevention
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First and foremost:
economic benefit
Accessing:
• higher education
• employment
• Immigration opportunities3
Most Common Examples of Fraudulent
Documents
Diploma’s / degree certificates
Academic records
Reference letters
Admissions letters
Language tests
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Types of Fraudulent Documents
Forgeries
Altered documents
Degrees awarded by degree mills
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Forgeries
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Altered Documents
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Degrees awarded by degree mills
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Degree Mills
Name resembles well-known university
P.O. Box or suite number
Telephone number of a cell phone or call centre
Examples of certificates on the website
Credits for life experience, distance education
Lack of information about faculties or staff
Logo of credit card on the website
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Want to order your own diploma?
This is supposed to be seen as a joke.
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Is this the same institution?
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Where is this place located exactly?
http://www.rochvilleuniversity.org/
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Degree mills aren’t the only problem…
http://gchea.org/
Accreditation mills provide a semblance of legitimacy 24
Detection
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Prevention
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Prevention
Ask for documents sent directly by the awarding
institution
Be familiar with the form and content of the documents
Be familiar with the educational structure of the country
in question
Check the recognition and accreditation of the
awarding institution
Contact the awarding institution for verification
Make sure the chronology in a file is consistent
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Prevention (2)
Be on the alert if
• documents show signs of alteration
• different fonts are used
• mislaligned text
• signatures are scanned
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Questions?
Comments?
stannard@epnuffic.nl
azaidy@epnuffic.nl
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