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Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions

nytimes.com

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Re: Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions

#31

Post by buyx »

There seems to be a proliferation of dubious Masters degrees that, although not as fake as this Pakistani diploma mill still seem more like money-making schemes than worthwhile credentials.

I know a number of people who were in high school with me, who, although academically quite average, and lacking Batchelors degrees are getting "fluffy" masters degrees from overseas universities, including MBAs.

It looks like we are moving from the era of grade inflation to the era of degree inflation.

Re: Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions

#34

Post by quadrophobia »

mistermann wrote: post #18

Many people say there is absolutely zero aggregate difference amongst various countries in terms of both governance and culture. Could something like this, on such a scale, actually fly in a western country?

While they are certainly not "degree mills" the for-profit university sector in the US has a very scammy flavor to it. (scammy in that they make lots of false promises about employment prospects of graduates, and encourage students to take out massive loans)

Many online gambling and adult entertainment companies operate and are based on very scammy business models. They deliberately seek to identify and target "whales" who have behavioral addiction problems that can be exploited for money. (although I would argue that internet porn is a legitamate and useful service) In the opinion of many, Zinga was (and is?) a very sleazy and unethical company.

More broadly, there have been many many massive financial frauds in western countries. Dietary supplements, sub-prime housing, madoff investments, the list goes on and on. If anything, the "non developed" world might be more honest than the developed world.

Re: Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions

#35

Post by vikramhaer »

_delirium wrote: post #22
hendzen wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US at least, an NDA is generally a standard part of an employment contract.

It's common in some industries, yes, but in California at least, many of them aren't actually enforceable. A company can write an enforceable NDA, but it can't be a blanket agreement. It has to clearly delineate which information is confidential vs. nonconfidential, and establish credible policies for handling confidential information. (Since employment is at-will, a company could still fire an employee for talking a…

I believe you might be thinking about a non-compete vs. a non-disclosure agreement?

Re: Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions

#36

Post by enraged_camel »

MichaelGG wrote: post #32

Eh, something doesn't add up. The article says they were earning $4000 daily, and it's now over 30x that. While that's a nice amount, it's only about 50M a year. With lavish perks, media companies, salaries, etc., it's not a huge amount, is it?

It is for a Pakistani company.

Re: Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions

#37

Post by asadlionpk »

This is common knowledge for everyone in Pakistan. But they serve legal notice to anyone who says something about it. Famously, Jehan Ara (president of PASHA) was sued for exactly that. Today an acquaintance got takedown notice just for posting link to this article on his FB/Twitter.

Re: Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions

#38

Post by enraged_camel »

Animats wrote: post #20

Here's one of their sites: Columbiana University.[1] The name is similar to the Columbiana campus of Kent State University, but the two are unrelated. CNN's IReport site, which publishes press releases without checking them, has one of their bogus PR announcements.[2] Our SiteTruth system is not happy with their site.[3] "No street address found on site ... Secure certificate: No valid certificate. ... Rating: Site o…

>>Here's one of their sites: Columbiana University.[1] The name is similar to the Columbiana campus of Kent State University, but the two are unrelated.

Actually, they were probably trying to sound similar to Columbia University, which is an Ivy League school.

Re: Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions

#40

Post by derefr »

Rainymood wrote: post #27
abhishekg wrote: post #13

Interesting - a quick search of reviews on Glassdoor for Axact found multiple employees complaining about the company's unethical business: http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Axact-Reviews-E333658.htm July 27, 2013: “Great benefits, great learning but ethically wrong! ” "Also the company deals in fake online university degrees and also providing research papers to students. The research paper part would not be so bad i…

>“Kills your market worth as a professional” That is the most brutal review on an educational programme I've ever read

I find the idea (that having particular job experience could kill my market worth) intriguing, given that I could always just leave the job off my resume.
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