Fake Degrees Are a Billion-Dollar Industry. The Fix Isn't Better Background Checks
In December 2025, Kerala police dismantled one of India's largest fake certificate operations. The operation had produced over one million forged academic certificates linked to 22 universities. The certificates covered medicine, nursing, and engineering. They were manufactured in Tamil Nadu, routed through a distribution hub in Bengaluru, and sold across multiple states. The price of a fake degree started at Rs 7,500.
This was not an isolated case. In Himachal Pradesh, Manav Bharti University issued 41,000 degrees over 11 years. When investigators examined the records, they found that 36,000 of those degrees were fraudulent. That is 87% of every credential the university ever issued. The Enforcement Directorate seized assets worth Rs 220 crore from the operation.
Globally, the picture is the same. Axact, a Pakistan-based operation, sold over 8 million fake diplomas across 190 countries before the FBI shut it down. Estimated gross revenue: over $1 billion.
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