Fake Diplomas in the Era of LinkedIn and Digital Resumes

These days, more and more people study online and provide digital resumes or diplomas. Naturally, you will find some that try to cheat the system and they will come by with a fake diploma or degree, trying to appear more qualified than they are. The last thing you want is to hire someone that doesn’t have a lot of knowledge or expertise, because it could very much lead to bad results in the long term. And that’s why you want to figure out how to handle those problems appropriately.

The rise of fake diplomas: why does that happen?

Clearly, a lot of people try to get the best possible jobs in their niche even if they don’t have the right skills. So what they do is they just opt for getting a fake diploma from various sites and then send it so they can get hired. Some people even share that fake degree on LinkedIn, add it to digital resumes and so on.

Obviously, people always want to focus more and more on getting the most money they can. And to be fair, those high-paying jobs sound very appealing. But when you lack the degree and skills for it, then things quickly fall off. However, those that want to cheat for the better job think they will just get the hang of it as time goes by.

And that’s why these fake diploma problems continue to be very difficult to deal with. It’s easy to see why: those that want such a diploma benefit directly, and not every institution checks the validity of the diplomas in the first place. You always want to make sure that you’re getting the best possible outcome and results, obviously. But some people want to go the easy route, and sometimes it does work well for them.

Why are fake diplomas a growing problem?

• Maybe the major issue here is the fact that these days, people have very quick access to forgeries. And that becomes a huge problem especially when it’s inexpensive to create a fake diploma, since people do want to appear more qualified than they really are.
• Also, having a fake diploma in the digital resumes or on LinkedIn makes you appear much better than you really are. Which is quite appealing for employers that want to hire you right away. It does make sense for them to go with the most qualified professionals, without knowing that some of them lie about those qualifications in the first place.
• Since there are various education systems worldwide, it can be hard to figure out the legitimacy of a diploma. And that further adds to the problem: it’s appealing for people to have a great diploma, even if it’s fake, and identifying whether the diploma is real or not can be expensive, not to mention time-consuming.
• We are all dealing with the pressure to compete against each other for a job. Due to that pressure, some people think the best idea is to try and exaggerate your skillset, so you can surpass others and net the job you want.

It’s clear that as soon as people have access to a fake degree, they will try to take advantage of it. They will find ways to showcase a fake diploma or degree, which honestly leads to bad things for their career. It’s very important not to lie or grab a fake degree, because it will cause all kinds of problems in the long term. That’s exactly the thing you want to pursue.

How are fake diplomas showing up in resumes or on LinkedIn?

Generally, people want to highlight their expertise on LinkedIn or in a resume, so they can attract employers. The way they showcase these diplomas is via exaggerating titles, inflating the importance of certain institutions, networking, endorsement or forged supporting documents. That allows them to show experience and things they obviously never had. It certainly allows them access to stuff that they would not have otherwise, and that’s the clear thing you always have to consider here. 

Are there technologies battling fake credentials?

Since more and more people are trying to use fake diplomas and degrees, it has become extremely important to try and identify ways of tackling those problems. And that’s the reason why most of these companies are focused on battling fake diplomas with the use of tech. there’s no denying that you can find a plethora of technologies designed to deal with fake credentials. And thankfully, these include:

• Blockchain verification has become very powerful, and it does allow you to verify credentials effectively. That’s because they are using tamper-proof digital records.
• Naturally, you also have digital credential platforms that will help verify diplomas and their validity online, which is extremely important to take into consideration.
• LinkedIn has started experimenting with partnerships that help prove authenticity. Even if they don’t verify the authenticity of documents, it’s expected that AI will play a major role in that, especially in the long term.
• Recruitment software also tends to integrate with credential verification services. So, slowly, we are finding that many services in this niche come with automated background checks. That’s amazing, and it truly shows the consistency of this value and the quality provided. 

What most practices can you use when it comes to avoiding fake diplomas or degrees?

Whether we like it or not, people will always try to showcase fake degrees or diplomas. That’s because they want to stand out and they do want the best jobs they can get. Even if, realistically, many of them lack the qualifications needed. Thankfully, as an employer, you can start using all kinds of tools that can identify fake diplomas. Plus, there are all kinds of tips and tricks to consider, like:

• Always verify diplomas and don’t just trust that people say the truth. Most of the time, they don’t, and you will end up with unqualified, overpaid hires.
• Check the accreditation of those institutions issuing the diplomas. Even if the diploma is real, the institution itself might not be accredited.
• It also helps a lot if you educate HR teams. That way, they can figure out any suspicious patterns, the use of AI or various things that are not real in the resume.
• Conduct some reference checks as well. Speaking with program coordinators, supervisors or professors, these things will help a whole lot more than expected.
• Always request transcripts, but do that from the university and not the candidate. In doing so, you actually get a legit copy and not something that could potentially be manufactured by the user.
• Use any verification service at your disposal. Some of them verify diplomas, others do a more thorough verification.

Conclusion

It’s clear that fake diplomas are very commonplace these days, especially since people want a high-paying job without actually getting those skills and working hard for them. And you can see many fake degrees in digital resumes or LinkedIn. We need to be very wary of these things happening, and then in the end, it will only make things much better. What really matters is to narrow down how these fake degrees are used, and then use the right tools to identify their legitimacy. If you do that, it will be easier to avoid employees with fake credentials.