Fake Universities

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by Kizmet, May 31, 2019.

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  1. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  2. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    It's a good overview . . . but doesn't address two really significant issues in the UK. One is that many fake universities that sound British, but are licensed elsewhere, are still permitted to advertise in British publications. (Knightsbridge University is a good example). Two is that the recognized academic suffix for legitimate schools in the UK is ".ac." But that is also the official suffix for websites registered in the Ascension Islands, and so fake universities are able to use the ".ac" suffix.
     
  3. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Good points, both. Knightsbridge is a good example - and so were the many fake unis of the Cyprus-Boston-Romania-Israel UDP scam of the early 90s, like University of Palmers Green (my childhood home town).

    Question. Every time I mention .ac is Ascension Islands and also an oft-used ruse for bogus offshore schools to appear legit - I get told off. I get told that's not so and their fake .ac is what it is - nothing more. Why is that, I wonder? I wouldn't give this a moment's thought except that at least one of the people who told me off is otherwise pretty knowledgeable.
     
  4. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

  5. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    For those who are more recent members, Knightsbridge is an old topic that would fall into the category Degree Mills. It's an interesting history if you wanted to use the little DI search widget to unearth some old threads. But be mindful not to step on any of the ducks.
     
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I'm sure fake schools use just about everything, including that. Similarly, a lot of them probably use generic TLDs like .net, but that doesn't mean https://www.ebsglobal.net is bogus.

    As for country code TLDs, quite a few are popular not because of the location they theoretically represent, but because of other associations. Many newer businesses use .co domains even though they're not in Colombia because the .com domain name they want isn't available. Many tech startups use .io domains not because they're located in the British Indian Ocean territory, but because of "input/output". Most .tv domains belong to television shows and online video channels that have nothing to do with the Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu. You get the idea.
     

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