“Pssst! Wanna buy a fake degree?”

Thousands of people do so, every day.

Some consumers realize what they are doing, but an escalating number are being duped by online college scams that operate sophisticated Internet fraud schemes that promise consumers they can get a degree fast online. These phony online colleges thrive on selling fake diplomas.

Are degree mills really such a problem?

Most people assumed not—until 2003, when the U.S. Government Office of Accountability undertook the first study of government employees who used federal tuition aid programs to  buy a fake college diploma online.

That study, “Diploma Mills Are Easily Created and Some Have Issued Bogus Degrees to Federal Employees at Government Expense,” revealed an epidemic of false diplomas and education scams.

The Congressional investigation uncovered 400 government employees, including upper echelon managers, who had decided to buy a degree using government tuition assistance programs or who had listed bogus colleges on their job applications.

Colby Nolan, a black cat, brought new meaning to the term "educational pedigree" when, in 2004, he “earned” an MBA online from Trinity Southern University of Plano, Texas. Trinity awarded the cat a work experience online degree.

The feline and online graduate student was graduated with honors with a 3.5 GPA (that's a B-plus average) after Trinity Southern officials “evaluated” his resume—which apparently showed college-level business experience in the fast food industry, child care, and, er, retail management.

Colby’s diploma was purchased for $399, plus shipping and handling, in a sting operation undertaken by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s
Office.