What John Bear really said!!

[Virtual Bison]

Oh, and there's no such thing as a "paratrooper ID," fake or otherwise. And the notion that using a fake degree in some situations won't get you arrested, fine. But it's still lying.

I guess it depends on what you define as "fake." The way the accreditation mafia operates, the lines blur.

Its like this, these guys cry wolf everytime an unaccredited school comes along. Pretty soon they loose their credibility.

In some countries, the notion of a private university is not accounted for. Thus, some despicable degree-sellers have set up operations, knowing the host government will just ignore them. They then claim to offer "legal" degrees. But being left alone to operate your diploma mill isn't the same as being recognized as a university, no matter who wishes it to be different. This can fool some purchasers. But most know better--joining the mill in a mutually beneficial fraud. Most casual observers will not see these distinctions. But we do, right?

The subject of unaccredited colleges, including outright diploma mills is an interest of mine. I do know that some nations have rather liberal educational laws. Switzerland allows each canton autonomy in legislating institutions in higher learning and a number of questionable institutions. So has Singapore and Cayman Islands. Even in France there is one unaccredited school which actually has the endorsement of Nicolas Sarkozy.

In general, many schools will base their operations in one country but not market there and as long as they keep it that way the local authorities don't care that much. Kind of like the expression, don't shit where you eat I guess.

My own personal opinion, being a dye in the wool libertarian is that it should be the employer's responsibility to determine which applicant is qualified for a position. And for any government institution to say that a person cannot use their credentials on a resume or application is overstepping their boundries. I had seen all kinds of outrageous things on people's resumes, raging from fake employers, membership in non-existant professional organizations and certifications (fake certifications are actually a bigger problem than so called diploma mills in my opinion) and so on.

If an employer is too lazy to check an application then they get what they deserve.

Of course the real test is whether a person has the skills to do a job. I do not care how many degrees you have, if you cannot do a job right you will soon be on the street.