Degree Fraud Awareness

Last week Prospects Hedd hosted Degree Fraud Awareness Week. Here are the summarised core discussion points that were raised during their webinar:

48% of SMEs and 49% of employers have experienced degree fraud – it’s far more common than assumed.

Not verifying degrees increases risk of internal fraud. The losses can be massive for a company and fake degree vendors are able to blackmail their clients into handing over money or data from your organisation.

If a candidate pays enough for a fake degree, then it may be indistinguishable from the real thing. It is never enough to rely on asking for a certificate alone.

Always fill out the verification form based on what is on the degree certificate as this reflects student records.

If in doubt with a Hedd verification, always email Hedd Help BEFORE the verification goes through. Fixing one mistake beforehand means a correct verification comes back as soon as possible.

Cifas illustrated the lengths that someone will go to in order to defraud a company. Paying for a fake degree is one of the easiest methods out there.

Verification is the quickest way to identify issues before onboarding. Most verifications are returned within 48 hours.

Making degree verification best practice lets fraudsters know that your company has safeguards in place and is watching.

Over 300+ bogus providers are listed on Hedd. You do not require an account to search these, so always check the name of the university against Hedd database.

Confirmation of attendance is not the same as confirmation of award. We are seeing incidents of final year students who have been excluded from their university course using fake degrees in lieu of genuine qualifications.