There are an increasing number of scandals involving diploma mills. There are Internet businesses that see fake diplomas and other credentials and many people that purchase these phony diplomas use them for career or salary advancement. They merely find an Internet business providing the fake documents that they require, pay the required fee, and receive the documents in the mail. They then present the documents to their employer and use them to secure a promotion or a higher rate of pay.

The practice was uncovered in Washington state where several police officers were found to have used this method to obtain salary increases. The officers, who one would expect to be above such practices, submitted the fake documents and received their pay raises. The documents were later found to be false which caused a scandal. This also goes to show that any employer, even government, can be duped by phony academic documents.

This existence of these quality fake documents casts a shadow on legitimate distance learning institutions. There are many legitimate institutions that offer novelty fake degrees for work performed online. These are not the fake degree diploma mills that just peddle the phony academic records. The distance learning student must prove his/her competency in each course in order to earn the degree. A specified level of academic course work and performance is required in order to qualify for the degree. These kinds of online institutions are not diploma mills. They have proper accrediting that can be verified with the U.S. Department of Education.

Some diplomas appear to be legitimate educational institution but on closer inspection of the website, there will not be a physical location or an address given for the institution. It is very easy for the uninformed consumer to be duped and think that they are dealing with an accredited educational institution but are just involved in purchasing fake diploma photo frames. The accredited legitimate educational institutions will list their addresses and many of them have multiple locations throughout the country.

Another tell tale sign is awarding credits or degrees based on life experience. There is usually no course work and there may or may not be some kind of test required. The individual can usually keep retaking the test until he/she passes. These are not legitimate distance learning institutions. They are just selling the bogus fake university degrees and documents and they can quickly be found out by a call to the U.S. Department of Education.

Other diploma mills just sell the fake college degrees and documents outright without any pretense of being an educational institution. The buyer selects the school, degree and GPA, pays the required price and receives the fake college documents in the mail.The availability of these fake diploma cover suppliers on the Internet makes it imperative for individuals to be duped. The prospective student needs to be informed about these scams in order to avoid being deceived.

The job market today is much different than the job market of twenty years ago. In this past there were good benefits programs and career paths for the individual to advance along. The economy was also much stronger and there wasn't much worry about layoffs and being unemployed for having fake diplomas. Qualified individuals had an easy time finding employment with good career advancement opportunities.

All of that has changed, especially with the weak economy. Job prospects are not that good even for the qualified individual. A Forbes magazine survey reveals that many Americans are unhappy with their jobs. The employers don't offer the bonus plans or opportunities for promotion that they desire. Many workers feel that they are dead-ended in their careers so they turn to the fake college degree market. In addition to this, there are many layoffs as companies cutback to try to save money.

Individuals who want to change employers or careers find it very difficult to do so since so many workers are either trying to do the same thing or are unemployed. Today, employers have their choice of workers since there are so many people looking for work with online fake degree certificates. The potential employer may receive thousands of applications for a single position and the temptation is for the employer to hire someone who is over qualified but willing to work for the money they are offering.

A diploma and other qualifications are necessary in today's job market. The individual who requires a degree to enhance his/her employment prospects can find many qualified online universities, like the University of Phoenix. The entry requirements are low and the individual can easily work toward the degree that he or she so disparately requires. These kinds of institutions make it easy for the person to obtain a degree but some employers are beginning to question the quality of that education. Employers want to hire individuals with an educational background that matches their needs.

People are also discovering that there are many Internet businesses that see fake diplomas. These phony diplomas are replicates of genuine degrees issued by legitimate educational institutions. They have all of the same information - name of school, degree, school seal, date of graduation and the name of the recipient. Some even supply fake transcripts, even though there are no official school records.

A simple Internet search will reveal a myriad of business selling these fake documents. For a small fee, the individual can purchase phony academic credentials that will help him/her in the job market some even offer fake diploma tassels and charms. This appears to be an attractive solution to many people who are looking for work in this highly competitive job market. There is a range of prices and quality among the different suppliers, but for a small outlay, the individual can have the 'credentials' he/she desires.

Transcripts are the official records of a students academic work. They tell the story of what the student did in school in terms of dates of attendance, courses attempted or completed, grades earned, GPA and whether or not the student graduated and when. Fake transcripts exist for any kind of academic work the student attempted at any level of education and many times the individual will have to supply either official transcripts or copies to a prospective employer to prove his/her academic achievements.

In the case of high school, which the individual attends for grades 9 through 12, the transcripts will show the grades for each course. Courses which were taken under the Pass/Fail option will show a grade of "P" or "F". The date of graduation and the name of the school are also indicated.

If the individual decides to attend college, a new set of transcripts will begin showing the individuals progress towards a degree. This may be an Associates or two year degree or a four year fake university college. Students who attend a two year college and then go on for a Bachelor degree from a four year college will find that their transcripts will provide a complete record of their four years of work, including what courses were attempted or completed and at which school.

Individuals who go on to graduate school, begin another set of transcripts showing their graduate work. This can be for a Masters degree or a Doctorate which represent and additional two to four years of work. These also indicate the courses attempted or completed, grades, GPA, date of graduation and the degree awarded through a life experience fake degree. Transcripts provide a record of all of the work the individual has accomplished in the academic world. People require the degree and transcripts for their success in employment.

Today, there are many places on the Internet that see fake diplomas and fake transcripts, from high school through graduate and professional affordable online fake college degrees. These fake documents look just as impressive as the genuine documents from a legitimate school do. They are made on the same paper with the same style of printing. They may have the same watermarks and embossing as the genuine documents do. These authentic novelty degrees contain all of the relevant information about the student and his/her so-called accomplishments. The only thing is that there are no official records at the educational institution because the individual never attended the institution.

When the individual purchases phony transcripts and fake diploma valedictorian medallions, he/she can specify the name of the school, the degree, the GPA and dates and the Internet business will make the transcripts according to the specifications of the purchases. They will look and feel just like the genuine documents, but there are no school records to back them up. The existence of the Internet makes it very easy.