Number of diploma mills in U.S. jumped 20 percent in 2011

The job market is tough, and more people are responding to the increased competition by falling for — or knowingly using — diploma mills that offer fake degrees and false education credentials. According to Verifile Limited’s second annual Accredibase report, there was a 48 percent increase worldwide in the number of known fake diploma mills in the past year. These are mostly online entities that lack valid accreditation and recognition but somehow coerce unsuspecting — or desperate — people to pay good money for useless degrees.

According to the 2011 report, the United States remains the world’s fake college capital. Last year saw a 20 percent increase in known diploma mills in this country, up from 810 to 1,008. While more than 40 percent of the diploma mills operate in California, Hawaii, Washington and Florida, the report reveals that Washington D.C. has seen the sharpest increase among US states, rising from 19 to 33 mills over the past year.

As employers are getting hip to the trick and instituting broader processes for education verification, some of these diploma mills have gone so far as to create fake accreditation agencies to give the fake schools false verification.

Be sure your employment screening service has a thorough education verification process in place, so you can be sure your candidates have the credentials and educational background they claim to have.

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Top 5 Ways Job Applicants Lie on a Resumé

If you think job applicants don’t fudge their resumés, you’re wrong. Despite how easy it is to check references and conduct a social media background check on sites like LinkedIn to find discrepancies in dates and responsibilities, many applicants still rely on lies and half-truths to boost their purported experience and expertise. According to a survey done by Forensic Psychology, 31 percent of those surveyed admitted to lying on a resumé, and the breakdown of lies is as follows:

1.      Salary. Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed said they boosted their current and/or former salary figures in order to grab more dough at their new job. However, more employers are requesting to review a job applicant’s last W-2 statement as part of their employment screening process, so this lie could come back to haunt applicants.

2.      Credentials. Twelve percent said they lied about their education, whether falsifying degrees earned or where they went to school. A professional pre-employment background check should catch this lie easily.

3.      Job performance. Fifteen percent said they’d embellished details of their professional accomplishments.

4.      Job responsibilities. Nineteen percent said they’d stretched the truth on what responsibilities they’d had, whether it was how many people they’d managed or what role they played in a group project or company success.

5.      Job skills. This one is perhaps the riskiest lie of all, but 17 percent said they’d fudged the skills they have in order to get a job requiring that skill.

Employers should keep these possible lies in mind when reviewing job applicant resumés and conducting background checks.


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