A degree is a valuable commodity, which means that for some people the idea of falsely claiming one can be too tempting to resist. There are at least three levels to faking a degree, and the first one is the easiest: putting it on a CV. It's only when an employer asks to see some proof that things start to get difficult.
All graduate employers should ask for sight of a certificate. The faker will then be faced with two choices: either to bluff it out and hope that human resources eventually stops chasing it, or to obtain a certificate that appears to verify his or her claims. The first is dangerous because it relies on someone else being negligent, while the second involves the faker in even more fraudulent behaviour.
Apart from legitimately graduating from a university, there are only two ways to obtain a degree certificate. You can either buy a real certificate from a fake university, or buy a fake certificate that pretends to be from a real university. Both types are easy to find on the web, although the sites which offer to help you create fake certificates are careful to include a disclaimer stating that they are 'novelty' products.
Anyone tempted to use either type of certificate should be aware that the next stage for employers is to check it out with the university itself. To do this the company requires the graduate's permission. Realising the game is up, this is the point at which many fakers withdraw their application.
"We know very well which organisations abroad hand out degree certificates for cash," says Peter Brooker, spokesman for the information solutions company Experian, which is used by employers to verify qualifications. "If we come across an institution we haven't heard of, it's an easy matter to find out if it is a legitimate degree-awarding body.
"On the other hand, if someone is claiming a degree from a UK university, we will (having got their permission) confirm the dates and achievements with the institution concerned."
Recent reports have suggested that there is a new generation of fake degrees available which include correct serial numbers and falsified student records. Not only would this make them much more difficult to detect, but also it suggests that the counterfeiters have managed to get inside a university, either by hacking into its systems or having someone on the inside. This, however, is something industry experts think highly unlikely.
"It's possible that they may have set up a cloned site which to the naive checker might appear to be the real one," says John Conyngham, director of investigations for business risk consultant Control Risk Group. "But frauds aren't usually any more sophisticated than this. In any case, trying to reassign three or four years of your life can be very difficult, and there will usually be other discrepancies on your CV that will make us look more closely."
The existence of fake but verifiable degrees is also something that David Young, policy adviser of the representative body Universities UK, thinks doubtful.
"Faking data within the universities would be very difficult for two reasons," he says. "First, awarding degrees is a university's core business and they look after information relating to who achieved what very carefully. Secondly, the technology in use at universities is quite low level. A university pass list posted on to a door is a difficult thing to hack into."
However the universities are very concerned about the trade in 'novelty' certificates that could be passed off as the real thing.
"Although websites providing so-called novelty degrees will try to keep on the right side of the law, where they have clearly gone beyond what the law allows we have taken legal action," says David. "We have also explored ways in which the law could be tightened in this area, but have been unable to find a solution."
The consequences for anyone caught supplying fake degrees might be an injunction, but for anyone caught claiming a false qualification, the results can be disastrous.
All industry experts agree that faking an academic qualification is like carrying a ticking timebomb with no idea of when it could go off. It could happen when you claim the qualification for the first time, or it might take years before it explodes in your face - taking your riches and your reputation with it.