Category: Scams

Life Experience – A Fake Experience?

– Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

This is a scam too, but there’s a difference here. The fraudsters are offering you a degree in “Life Experience,” which is basically the sum total of what you are today. So you earn a degree for being, well, just you.

Life experience credits do exist and do count towards some degrees offered in legitimate schools, says Judith Eaton, president of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. They usually take into account a form of competency testing, with documentation and reviews as proof of credits earned.

And get this – there are nearly 2,000 bodies that are in the business of handing out fake life experience degrees all over the world. Some of them have websites that are plagiarized from legit schools, while others claim to be accredited by the World Online Education Accrediting Commission. Guess the fake degree providers feel the use of the word “World” gives an air of authenticity to the whole affair!

Read more on online education scams.

Fake Degrees Do Not an Education Make

– Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer

It could happen to any of us – when we’re caught at a weak moment. Falling into a trap, being lured into a scam, taking the bait meant for a sucker, being taken for a ride, ending up with egg on your face – there are varied ways to say it, but they all mean one thing – some one has made money at your expense!

Online education is one of most lucrative playing grounds for fraudsters, simply because you never have to set foot in the campus. The whole experience is hidden behind the veil of the Internet, a vast domain that masks identities and intents. So if you’ve decided to take the online route to getting an education, ensure that you are actually earning a worthy degree, not just a fancy piece of framed paper.

Besides confirming the proper accreditation, check the background of your preferred school thoroughly; the Better Business Bureau usually has a list of complaints against suspect institutions – steer clear from them.

Too much money, too little time, a degree in your hand – this is a cocktail that spells trouble. Don’t touch it with a bargepole, it’s a definite scam.

Talk to people who have been to the same school, find out a little extra about the staff and other personnel. And do not be taken in by fancy websites that look authentic. They’re often facades for something more sinister.

Fire department to be more careful when it comes to Web degrees

A Santa Cruz County fire department recently had its share of negative effects of the online education scam. In the course of an official audit this summer, the department unearthed some irregularities in the way some of the fire fighters were getting additional monetary benefits by virtue of holding one degree or another. It seemed that the scam had been going on for some time. The department has rules that give monetary incentives to fire fighters who add to their qualification by studying while they work. Unfortunately this rule has been heavily abused wherein the employees have been submitting fake degrees and have been earning more than they should actually be.

These fake degrees and diplomas are generally procured at a miniscule sum of less than $200 form some online colleges and universities. These universities are ‘accredited’ by some vague non-descript authority that has no standing. As such some of the fire fighters have been obtaining such fake degrees and adding several hundred dollars to their salary every month. Santa Cruz Sentinel reports:

There are several hundred counterfeit diploma Web sites, or diploma mills, which can be lucrative and easy to operate anonymously, according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Many use names similar to reputable universities or colleges and have phone operators who verify graduations to employers who call to check.

Peddling Worthless Degrees

Here’s something I’ll never understand – why people would pay good money for a degree that they know is a sham! Is that all an education is worth – the price of the paper the degree is printed on?

Amidst all the diploma mills that take people for a ride and offer fake degrees, there are some sites that boldly proclaim that their degrees are “bogus” and that for $60, (well, a cent less to be exact), you can have the degree of your choice printed and framed on the wall behind your desk.

Being fooled into earning a degree that is worthless is one thing, knowing that you are “buying” a degree is entirely another. While the first amounts to being taken for a ride, the second shows that the “degree holder” is the one taking prospective employers, friends and family for a ride.

The values and benefits of online education are being corroded by the existence of such sites, and the more they are patronized, the less significance online learning will hold.

Tutor Takes Students For Ride

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has warned potential students from signing up for online lessons from ABC Tutors and the Queensland-based Tutormaster. The director of both companies, Salvador Paje, is accused of taking payment from students, hiring students from local universities to teach them, and not paying for services rendered. The ASIC said that Paje had escaped to the Philippines, leaving behind a debt running into thousands of dollars. ZDNet Australia reports:

The company had maintained a presence offline as well as online, according to Greg Tanzer, ASIC executive director of consumer protection. "Parents and potential tutors should be wary about dealing with companies that trade exclusively online with little or no human contact," he added.

Degree Mills Prove Costly

The rush to purchase degrees from diploma mills may prove more costly than you think. Just ask this police officer from the Naples Police Force. Detective Sgt. Joe Popka has been placed on paid administrative leave and asked to return $620 he earned as additional salary because of a degree he had purported to have earned.

Popka claimed to have a degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the Almeda University, and has been drawing an extra amount on his salary as an incentive for the degree. The “University” claims to be accredited by the Council for Distance Education Accreditation and the Association for Online Academic Excellence and Interfaith Education Ministries (Boy! What a mouthful!).
The fact is that none of these accreditation agencies are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Popka, after being informed by the Professional Standards Division of his fake degree, pleaded innocence and claimed that he was unaware that the agencies were fraudulent.

According to the laws of the state, Naples’ law enforcement officers are entitled to compensations for certifications and degrees. An associate degree can boost an officer’s monthly salary by $30 while a bachelor’s degree can increase his/her salary by as much as $80.

The institution that awards the degrees should be recognized by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) though. The FDLE accepts degrees that are accredited by eight accreditation agencies.

Beware the Accreditation Mills

While there are many legitimate and accredited online universities, unfortunately there are also a few accreditation mills which falsely accredit colleges making them only seem legitimate. To that end, we have provided for our readers an Online University Search Tool, below, which will allow you to search from only legitimate nationally accredited online universities to find the degree that interests you:

Search Online Degrees

We’ve heard, talked and read so much about the necessity to check if an online institution is accredited before signing up for its courses. But what happens when the accreditation does not hold water? A school that wishes to openly sell its degrees markets its wares online in the guise of a diploma mill. Similarly, there are certain schools that lure students who wish to earn their degrees honestly, by claiming false accreditation credentials.

These “accreditation mills” are more dangerous than diploma mills as they promise what they cannot provide – quality education certified by the proper authorities. The problem is compounded when these fake schools advertise their wares on legitimate and trusted sites such as Amazon and Google.

With the demand for online advertisements and the income they generate, not too many websites scrutinize the authenticity of the commercials they display. Prospective learners can protect themselves by checking if the institution is accredited by one of the following six agencies:

The above are the only legit accreditation organizations in the United States.

Fake Degrees and Diploma Mills

Not everyone who earns a fake degree online is being scammed. This is the conclusion that I reached in the course of surfing the Internet, when I came across thousands of websites that proudly scream, “Want an MBA? It’s yours for $19.50”, or, “Yours for free – Any of our 20 degrees”. This brought to mind an observation a friend made – as long as there are people who buy stolen goods, there will be crooks around. So as long as people want a degree without the hard work and effort that goes into earning it, the Internet will continue to churn out fake diploma mills.

Why is there such a huge demand for fake degrees anyway? With all the talk of employers not accepting even genuine online degrees as equal substitutes for regular degrees, does it make sense to buy a piece of paper that proclaims that you are a graduate or postgraduate in a particular discipline? In the unlikely case that you do manage to find a job based on the fake degree, will you be able to discharge your duties efficiently?

Arguments may arise that on-the-job proficiency is not related in a great way to theoretical learning. And I fully agree! But if you do not need a degree to excel at work, you should be able to secure a job even without the fake degree. All a fake degree does is to lower your self-esteem. It may look good hanging on the wall in your office, but it is a constant reminder that you have not earned it. So before buying that degree online, think not once, even twice, but long enough to make you decide not to go ahead.

Beware of Fake Degrees

With the enrolment in online institutions on the rise, there is bound to be a proportional increase in the number of fake degree mills. This is not a very surprising development when you consider that it is basic human nature to want a substantial part of the money-spinning pie. As an online student, you would definitely not want to get gypped out of your money and time for a degree that is not worth the paper it is printed on.

Before you enroll in a course and cough up your tuition fees, take time to investigate the genuineness of your institution and degree. There are times when the school may be above board, but a few of the degrees they offer may not be properly accredited. More often than not though, the institution itself is just an empty shell that brags about the record time in which you can earn your degree, and about the excellent opportunities that await you once you complete the course.

Don’t be fooled by fancy websites that carry a .edu extension as its domain address. Not all .edu portals relate to accredited educational institutions. As much as possible, enroll in a school that someone you know has graduated from. Try and combine your online education with a minimum amount of on-campus work. Institutions that offer on-campus training as part of their online degrees are usually on the square.

Any decent online school worth its salt should offer complete physical and virtual addresses, and contact details of staff you can contact, both for administrative and academic purposes. Online help with lessons and virtual classes should also be provided.

Go ahead, earn that degree online, but make sure it’s fully worth it!

Health Administration

Health administration is an umbrella term for a huge range of occupations. Typically, one would think about a hospital as the prominent work setting of a health administrator. Besides hospitals, other organizations that need health administrators are Managed Care Organization, Clinics, Corporate Health Offices, Public Health Organizations, Hospital Supply Firms, and Health Care Consultants, among others.

The health administrator typically coordinates the processes of various branches of the hospital, plans for future programs and facilities, and works with the governing board, government officials, and the general public to serve the needs of the hospital and its community.

I found this to be an excellent reference site for basic information on Health Administration Career Options (just ignore their site layout – especially the background color).

Online Degree Resources for Healthcare Administration