In recent years, along with the creation of the Internet, getting a fake degree has become extremely easy. Everyone has heard a story about someone using a fake degree to get a job, however, now more than ever; top officials are being accused of using fake degrees and fake credentials on their resumes. This has caused an acute awareness within corporations when deciding how they hire. With the creation of many internet-based sites dedicated to creating fake documentations such as fake degrees, transcripts and course schedules, it is no wonder that many people, include people that now hold higher level jobs, got their degrees from a website instead of a University.

Diploma mills are companies that print fake degrees from fake Universities for a large sum of money. Although these degrees are not cheap, they are worth nothing. A lot of people have purchased these degrees because they look extremely official, and sometimes come with packages including things like transcripts, report cars, and class schedules. It is no surprise that with this extreme temptation only a few clicks away, that many officials have obtained some of these degrees.

Many people with important jobs have now been accused of having degrees from phony schools. In fact, according to a report done for a prominent news station, people with phony diplomas have jobs such as safety engineers and extremely secure nuclear power plants; biological weapons experts, workers at NATO headquarters, and at the Pentagon. This is shocking news to the ordinary, law abiding citizen, because the general community is taught to respect and trust these people in high, government positions.

Some prominent government officials have been found to list degrees on their resumes that are from diploma mills that have been shut down on fraudulent charges. For example, the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Charles Abell, holds a master’s degree from Columbus University, which happens to be a diploma mill that was shut down in Louisiana and in being investigated in several other states. Also, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Patricia Walker, has a degree from Pacific Western listed among her degrees on her resume. Pacific Western, just like Columbus University, also happens to be a diploma mill that is banned in Oregon. Also, Rene Drouin, who is on an advisory committee for the Departments of Treasury and Education, has two degree from fake diploma mills; one of these mills is called Kensington University. Another person who has a degree for Kensington University is Florida State Rep Jennifer Carroll, who recently stepped down from her position on the National Commission on Presidential Scholars. Although this seems like it would be extremely important news to other government officials, when the pentagon was contacted for interviews, they turned them down and said that they didn’t consider there to be an issue.

In some states, using a fake degree is a crime. Many people believe that employing people who hold fake degrees violates people’s safety, especially in certain jobs. For example, it would not be safe to have a person with a fake degree teach children, would for homeland security, design bridges or building, or work in the medical field. This could cause extreme safety issues that people do not know about. It is certainly not fair to put people in unsafe situations when they do not know about it.

Some people who take classes at fake Universities are also shocked when they find out that the online University is not real. Many people work hard and believe that the money that they are spending is going to help them in the long run. Because there are so many great online educational opportunities, some people forget that when there are also many fake online educational services. Because it is so easy to obtain fake degrees, employer, and people who are looking to obtain an online degree, should be extra cautious when looking at credentials.

While online educational opportunities are great, people who are looking to take online classes should look into the school they are planning on using very carefully. A very good way to check to credibility of an online school is to check and see if the school holds any national credentials. If they do not, a person should make a more thorough investigation of the school before paying them money. With the increase of fake universities, many companies are taking extra care to make sure their employees have valid degrees. If not, there will be even more people in high-level positions that are using fake degrees to get ahead.