ALKHOBAR, 11 March 2008 — Over the past few months, Saudi Internet users have been receiving junk e-mail solicitations daily, offering university degrees — bachelor’s master’s and even Ph.D. qualifications. These e-mails all have pretty similar messages. They generally read: “Eliminate classrooms and traveling. Obtain degrees from prestigious non-ac universities based on your life experience. Obtain the degree you deserve, based on your present knowledge.”
The junk e-mail will provide a telephone number. Lately, all the numbers have been US-based. Just call that number, send some money and in a week or so you’ll have a certificate — but don’t fool yourself that you’ll have a university degree.
All these junk e-mails offering university degrees are coming from diploma mills. A diploma mill or degree mill is a business that commits fraud by disguising itself as a real university. If you notice in the text from the e-mail printed above, the degree on offer is from a “non-ac” university — that means non-accredited university. No accreditation body will accredit a diploma mill.
These criminals make money by selling printed degree certificates and providing academic references and falsified transcripts to individuals who purchase degrees from them. If you are someone who wants a fake degree and you are willing to pay a diploma mill for one, then go right ahead and get one. Eventually, you’ll probably get a lot of trouble too for your efforts. However, if you are someone trying to a find a genuine online academic program — then it’s essential to avoid diploma mills.
Companies and government organizations in Saudi Arabia require authentication of all education certificates claimed on resumes by their employees. It is impossible to authenticate a certificate from a diploma mill, so it is useless for career advancement in the Kingdom.
Degree mills continue to flourish because their operators know how to function within the legislation of the countries where they are based.
Most contracts for the fake university certificates contain fine print and devious language, which protects the companies printing the “degrees.” And it is not just the US that hosts such operations. So don’t think that a similar offer coming from the UK for example, is legitimate. Sadly, the Internet is full of stories of people who used these degree mill diplomas and got caught — sometimes with criminal consequences.
If you are interested to know more on this topic, refer to the excellent online information at www.elearners.com/resources/diploma-mills.asp
