Fake Diplomas Made In Karachi And Sold Globally: Declan Walsh's story in The New York Times

Scamming Education Seekers And Also Enabling Crooked Employees Seek Promotions

In a story in The New York Times, May 17, 2015, Declan Walsh describes the plight of Mohan, a 39 year old migrant from India working as an accountant in Abu Dhabi. Mohan took on debt of $30,000 to pay local agents of Axact for a fake MBA degree and later, fearing he will be deported, other useless certifications. The article notes, "He had stopped sending money to his parents in India, and hid his worries from his wife, who had just given birth.”

Axact sells a range of fake qualifications from high school diplomas for $350 to doctoral degrees for $4,000 and more, through a team of aggressive sales folk. Walsh writes that the company, based in Karachi, Pakistan and run by Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh, misuses a CNN logo and creates false LinkedIn profiles for its fictitious faculty.

The article adds, .. "very little in this virtual academic realm, appearing to span at least 370 websites, is real — except for the tens of millions of dollars in estimated revenue it gleans each year from many thousands of people around the world, all paid to a secretive Pakistani software company."

While some like Mohan are eager to secure higher education to advance their careers, others apparently know the diplomas are fake but buy them to advance in their careers. As the article notes, "In the Middle East, Axact has sold aeronautical degrees to airline employees, and medical degrees to hospital workers. One nurse at a large hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, admitted to spending $60,000 on an Axact-issued medical degree to secure a promotion."

For full story go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/18/world/asia/fake-diplomas-real-cash-pakistani-company-axact-reaps-millions-columbiana-barkley.html?_r=0