'Prestigious' diplomas just a mouse click away

Internet users can order a degree from a college that doesn't exist, with grades - honors,

By ANITA KUMAR

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 12, 2000

For most people, earning a college degree means spending tens of thousands of dollars and toiling away in a library night after night.

But these days, there's an easier way.

Recent ads being sent to e-mail users across the nation -- including those in the Tampa Bay area -- offer diplomas from "prestigious non-accredited universities" to anyone who can fork over $1,400 and the cost of a long-distance phone call.

There's no campus, no exams, no professors.

Harrington University, a fictional school in London, appears on each made-to-order diploma. Buyers pick a degree, a major and classes -- the ones they would have taken if they had really attended college.

And don't worry about grades. At Harrington, everyone graduates with the highest honors.

Now the Ohio-based company suspected of touting the diplomas is under scrutiny in its home state for sending unsolicited ads using unauthorized e-mail addresses -- making it a frequent topic by computer experts on various Internet sites.

"What these people are doing is preying on hope and aspiration," said Judith Watkins, a vice president at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. "Some people know exactly what this is. Some people don't -- they just want a piece of paper."

The company's name is not listed on the ad, but some recipients and experts have connected them with PlusNet Marketing & Distributors near Cincinnati. The company also distributes Internet ads for press passes and driver's licenses that it claims can't be suspended or revoked.

Dozen of complaints from states around the nation are pouring into the Attorney General's Office in Ohio about PlusNet Marketing, said Jennifer Detwiler, a public information officer. But she said she could not confirm whether the company is under investigation.

In Florida, those who buy diplomas could be investigated because buying or selling false academic credentials is a misdemeanor, said John Wood, chief investigator with Pinellas County's consumer protection office.

"Internet (scams) are really getting prevalent in Florida," Wood said. "But no one has a handle on it yet."

Repeated calls by the St. Petersburg Times to the phone numbers on diploma ads were not returned. A man who called back once would not give his name and declined to comment.

The complete package

Thousands of e-mail users across the nation have received identical ads for diplomas, but computer experts say there is no way to tell just how many.

In the Tampa Bay area, e-mail users report receiving the ad several times, particularly on Yahoo or Hotmail accounts. And, in recent months, the number has escalated.

The frequency of the ads has prompted computer experts nationally to post the ads on Internet bulletin boards and message each other about ways to determine who is generating the e-mails.

The ads, which encourage people to call immediately to get their diploma within 10 days, do not say how much diplomas cost. One e-mail recipient who called the number on the ad was told the cost is $1,400, although it is possible to receive a scholarship to reduce the price or pay in installments.

Harrington University graduates receive a diploma, transcripts and a laminated wallet-size diploma. They also get several letters of recommendation and school phone numbers so potential employers can verify backgrounds.

A graduate can make changes free of charge, except for shipping, for one year. For example, a biology major could change to a business major with a phone call.

Dr. Jeffery Leader, a math professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind., received several copies of the ad and even posted one outside his office as a joke.

"To anyone who checks, it'll be clear that such a diploma is in fact a negative reflection on the owner, symbolizing laziness and intellectual dishonesty at the least," he said.

Officials at area companies, such as Honeywell and Raymond James Financial, say they always verify a potential employee's background information, particularly their college education.

"I've heard about (diploma mills). It's always been a problem although it sounds easier than before," said Gena Cox, vice president of assessment and selection at Raymond James. "But we never hire anyone on just the few things they tell us."

Junk e-mail soars

Selling diplomas is not a new business. Diplomas that were advertised in the back pages of magazines years ago moved to the Internet when new technology allowed the word to be spread faster and further than ever before.

"As the Internet becomes more common, it is being tied to more traditional schemes," said Paul Luehr, an assistant director for the bureau of consumer protection at the Federal Trade Commission, "and a large number of people are falling for them."

Diploma ads are sent from e-mail addresses belonging to companies around the world that offer free e-mail addresses. After batches of e-mails are sent, the address is abandoned and another one used.

Copies of ads obtained by the Times show diploma ads were sent using addresses from companies in Italy, Belgium, Poland, Brazil and the United States. Most didn't know their addresses were being used.

Officials at Cylcades, a communication company in Freemont, Calif., discovered one of their Brazil addresses was being used when they got complaints.

Before the problem was fixed, Cyclades president Daniel Dalarossa received a copy of the ad himself. "It gave me a lot of headaches," he said.

About 10 percent of all e-mail is considered junk e-mail or "spam," similar to the diploma ads, said John Mozena, co-founder and vice president of Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail.

The presence of junk e-mail has skyrocketed in the past three years as more people sell everything from pheromones that supposedly attract members of the opposite sex to apricot seeds that supposedly cure cancer.

In September, a man even tried to sell a kidney on eBay's Web site. The starting price was $25,000 and the bidding exceeded $5-million before eBay shut him down.

"You'd be surprised at what they're selling," said Ian Douglas, of Detroit, who complained after receiving several copies of the diploma ad. "Everything is getting sold on the Internet these days."

Several anti-spam groups have lobbied state and federal lawmakers in recent years, asking them to regulate unsolicited commercial e-mail. Congress considered various laws but has not passed one, Mozena said.

"There is a long list of serial spammers out there," he said. "It's an abuse. How do you know when an offer is legitimate or not? You have no way of knowing."

Companies, including America Online Inc. and Yahoo, encourage their customers not to respond to these type of e-mails or even read them. Most have created ways for spam to be directly sent to a separate computer file that a customer can avoid all together.

They also have sued companies that either send spam to their e-mail customers or use e-mail addresses without permission.

"For us, it really makes no difference what the content is," AOL spokesman Rich D'Amato said. "It's obviously junk e-mail."

-- Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

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