"Particularly troubling is the possible use of diploma mill qualifications to circumvent migration controls, possibly by potential terrorists"

"An official looking certificate may be issued to a copy of a diploma mill qualification, and then subsequently issued with an Apostille, without anyone having ever verified the signature on, let alone the contents of, the diploma."

Fact - Government stamps on documents make them look genuine.

Fact - They are more likely to be accepted by other governments as genuine.

Fact - Terrorists and criminal know this, yet governments continue to 'legalize' fake documents and those issued by diploma mills without checking to see if the document is real or fake.

This is the risk

1. Qualified engineer is recruited by Al Qaeda
2. He gets a new identity to travel in case he is on a watchlist
3. He gets a diploma mill/fake engineering qualification in his new name
4. He gets this attested and legalized because no one verifies with issuing authority
5. He gets a job or does post graduate studies overseas as he has a very authentic looking degree that no one checks and that he is qualified for.
6. He kills people.

Does this sound improbable? Unfortunately it has happened

In 1999 Ata-Ur-Rahil, purchased an unaccredited degree. He then used this degree to help substantiate his passport application. These documents then assisted him during the planning and perpetration one of the largest terror attacks in India – eight bombs in trains in July 2006 that killed 200 people and left 700 wounded.

To those who supply fake degrees be warned. The individual who sold the unaccredited degree has been charged with assisting in this terror attack.

Mumbai Terror Blast July 2006

Unaccredited Degree Issuer Arrested

How big is the Risk?

In 2006 we checked over 17,000 driving licenses in the Middle East – 15% were fake. This is one of the most typical identity documents used to support passport applications, and if fake ID's can get you a US Passport easily do you think it is any harder in this part of the world?