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A conman who sold fake exam certificates online has been sentenced to 80 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £567.97. Ofqual discovered the conman’s website where certificates bearing the Ofqual branding and logos were being sold.

Michelle Meadows, Executive Director for Strategy, Risk & Research at Ofqual said: “Fake certificates for qualifications will not be tolerated and we have ensured that the website no longer provides these. We want people to feel secure in the knowledge that a qualification accredited by Ofqual is valid. People who are found to be selling fake certificates for qualifications or using the Ofqual logo illegally will face legal action”.

Diploma mills are a common problem. See our blog for more stories on diploma mills.

The latest Fraudscape report from Cifas shows that employment application fraud is still high. This follows the BDO’s FraudTrack 2018 report, which that stated employee fraud cost organisations almost £500 million in 2017. Employee fraud not only has a significant impact on an organisation's finances but can also damage reputation and staff morale.

According to Cifas, hiding unspent criminal convictions remained the most common form of fraudulent conduct when the employment application was successful. False references saw an increase of 150% in 2018 compared to 2017, the highest number in five years. That's why Verifile go directly to employers, universities, schools, and others when undertaking pre-employment checks, instead of relying on referees that the candidate supplies.
Degree fraud is also highlighted as a problem and includes:   

• the creation of fake degree certificates (counterfeit versions of degree certificates from real universities)
• the operation of diploma mills (which sell unrecognised degrees for a fee, usually based on “life experience”)
• exaggeration or outright lies on CVs

With the use of design software and colour printers, fraudsters now have access to the tools they need to create realistic versions of certificates. Even professionals in university registry offices can sometimes find it difficult to distinguish a fake certificate from a genuine one, so verifying degrees directly with the university is essential. Cifas advises that “Only when all employers check the authenticity of all their hires all the time will degree fraud be eradicated.”

For more information on how we can help you reduce your risk via a tailored pre-employment screening policy, please contact us.

A Maths teacher from Brighton has been banned from teaching for life after lying about having a 2:1 BA (hons) degree on his CV.  Mr Craig Bozic, who was teaching at the school for nearly a year before resigning in March 2018, is now prohibited from teaching indefinitely and will not be allowed to teach in England again or even apply for the ban to be removed!
 
Mr Bozic was never able to produce evidence of his degree, despite multiple requests from the school, which led to the investigation that ended to this ban for life. A professional conduct panel which took place in Coventry reported that Mr Bozic lied on his CV in order to secure the teaching position and it was a "deliberate act to conceal the truth".

Verifile often deals with degree-related fraud, and these are the most common issues we uncover: 

• Exaggeration of grades is super common. Candidates will bump their grades up, for example, and A level results such as C, C, D may become B, B, C if the candidate is modest or to straight As if they are more daring. Same applies to degrees where 2:1 is increased to a 1^st for example. 
• Candidates who never finished their degree course often claim on their CV that they did. 
• Buying an unrecognised 'degree' online based on 'life-experience' is another common fraud. A Diploma mill sells fake degrees and worth $1 Billion a year so this is a thriving industry! 

The decision regarding Mr Craig Bozic can be found here (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-misconduct-panel-outcome-mr-craig-bozic)