A multi-million pound ‘diploma mill’ in Pakistan is selling fake degrees to thousands of British students.
More than 3,000 phoney qualifications were bought by UK-based customers from IT company, Axact, between 2013 and 2014.
Among those buying the degrees were NHS consultants, nurses and psychologists, a probe has revealed.
Axact operates a network of phoney colleges, using names including Brooklyn Park University and Nixon University
One Brit even spent an incredible £500,000 on fake documents, the investigation by BBC Radio 4’s File on Four found.
Axact operates a network of phoney colleges, using names including Brooklyn Park University and Nixon University, with biographies gushing about the establishments’ bogus illustrious histories.
In one example, a consultant at a London teaching hospital bought a degree in internal medicine from the fake Belford University in 2007.
The doctor –who had previously been disciplined by the General Medical Council (GMC) for failing to report a criminal conviction – told the BBC he had not used the certificate because it ‘had not been authenticated’.
While it is illegal to use a fake diploma in the UK, it is not against the law to purchase one.
Higher Education Degree Datacheck (HEDD) chief executive Jayne Rowley told the BBC that only 20 per cent of UK employers ran proper checks on applicants’ qualifications.
Axact gushes to students about its bogus universities on their websites
British engineer Cecil Horner, who bought fake documents for nearly £500,000, has been sent a barrage of threatening calls by Axact.
Mr Horner, who was based in Saudi Arabia, died in 2015, and his son Malcolm believes he bought the qualification over concerns he would lose he job.
He told the BBC: ‘It makes me so angry.
‘It’s unfathomable these websites still exist and they can’t be shut down.’
The Department of Education said HEDD would take action to tackle the fraudsters.
A spokesman said: ‘Degree fraud cheats both genuine learners and employers, so we’ve taken decisive action to crack down on those seeking to profit from it.’