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SOME COLLEGE DEGREES NOT WORTH THE PAPER THEY’RE PRINTED ON by Lance Frederiksen

More and more job applicants aren’t earning their college degrees the old-fashioned way – actually going to school.

Instead, they’re buying their diplomas from “degree mills” that sell official-looking documents from non-accredited or non-existent colleges and universities with impressive-sounding names.

Just look on the Internet, and you’ll find dozens of companies offering everything from cheap “novelty” diplomas to advanced academic degrees. They all have one thing in common, however: They aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.

And, the scam isn’t just being run on small or unsophisticated businesses.

An eight-month investigation concluded last year by the federal General Accounting Office found that at least 28 senior-level employees in eight key departments, such as the Defense Intelligence Agency, had bogus diplomas.

Robert Mather, founder and president of MyBackgroundCheck.com (MBC) and its sister company Pre-employ.com, two Internet-based companies that conduct 6,000 to 8,000 background screenings daily, said, “Each year, we uncover more and more applicants with fake degrees or falsified academic accomplishments.”

A former private investigator, Mather said more than 9 percent of job applicants falsify their educational history. “By hiring these people, employers might not only be bringing a liar into their company,” he said. “They could be bringing a criminal into the workplace.”

Mather said an employer’s best defense is to check someone’s credentials carefully. “It’s a fact that criminals lie about their educational and work histories. Businesses must aggressively search out the truth.”

State laws differ on whether it is a crime to present a fake degree when applying for a job. But, increasing attention regarding fake diplomas is leading lawmakers to take the issue more seriously.

Diploma verification is just one of the services offered through MBC, the leader in applicant-paid background searches.

Concept Marketing Group, Inc. has formed an alliance with MBC whereby visitors to Concept’s www.marketingsource.com Web site can click on any information item and, then, click on Employment Resources to access group rate Background Checks. Or, persons can go directly to the MBC discount page at www.marketingsource.com/employment/.