It looks like the number of fake diplomas and certificates in the USA is not going to slow down soon. So, if you want to verify someone’s background history and check if they really went to school or got a certificate, then you have to use the following methods.
Some of these options uncover more data than others. But that depends on the person’s details first, and second, public data may not be enough. That’s why other search tools combine the data from multiple sources. Next, they show them in one report for a fixed cost. But other options are totally free but with no guarantee for any information.
Education background verification
Here’s how to tell if someone’s lying about their degree. Try the option that works best for you. And remember that people may have different names, based on what you know about them. So, verify that first.
1. Run a background check online
To run a background check on someone’s education online, there are trusted sources of information that you can use, like these search tools. These sites scan the Internet and find details about people on sites, social media, LinkedIn, and even more. They get private details from exclusive databases and other sources. That’s not possible with regular search engines.
So, to run an educational background check on a specific person, use any of the information you know about individuals, such as their:
- First and last name
- Phone number
- Home address
- Username found on social profiles
- Face photo (they have a face recognition algorithm)
Most of these online background search tools show if someone graduated in a clear report. That can be found under their education tab with details like diplomas, degrees, and certificates. Also, you can find out if someone’s GED is real by reading the details. But if it’s not there, then, probably, the tool knows nothing about that, or they never attended a school.
Some schooling background search types are better. For example, you may prefer using a person’s cell phone number or email address. Then, you can see who these people are through a comprehensive search report. There should be different types of personal details about people that you can read to understand who they are.
2. Verify the degrees with the college directly
This may not be the fastest option for many. That’s because some colleges have busy lines most of the time with many requests for verifying someone’s educational history. So, don’t hesitate to call them and request verification of the certificate degree that someone sent to you. Probably what they showed you as papers and certificates are all fake and not genuine. You can also request some educational background examples and compare them with what the person shows.
If you suspect the person sent a fake scan of their academic credentials, it’s a good idea to send the scan back to the same school and see if it’s real. If the university approves the documents, that’s probably the truth.
Always double-check the records
That being said, you need to be careful with attempts to modify a letter or two on other people’s certificates or papers. On many occasions, people share the same names (first and last). So by showing you someone else’s academic certificate, they can change numbers if they want to make things look real. For that reason, we recommend requesting a clear scan of the documents if you have trouble verifying the details on them.
If the person earned their diploma from an online university, you can request an online degree certificate verification directly from the official website. Just search for the school name, and you’ll find it on Google. Next, look for their website’s contact page. Then, send them an email with the scans of the documents you received, and request a verification. By seeing people’s higher education background records, you’ll avoid many issues in the future.
Also, many big universities offer online education only. And after the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for web certification increased. Consequently, lots of people prefer online education, and they’ve earned their degrees through the Internet. In other words, nothing is wrong with that if the guy or the girl passed an exam and legitimately earned the certification from trusted sources.
3. Try search engines and the internet
Most US universities have their own website. And so, they will publish details that are visible publicly. Consequently, by doing a simple Google search on someone’s name, followed by the name of the university he attended or the license he got, you’ll get a free education background verification.
Next, look for any information on the official website that represents the university. After that, compare the date on the diploma with what you can see online. In fact, some people prefer falsifying documents. So they look somehow real when they’re just copies of someone else’s certificate they found on websites. For that reason, be careful, and check the full letters of their name, the date of certification, signatures, etc…
Sometimes, you may find differences in the diploma’s design and colors. Just zoom the scan of the certification by 10 or more. Then see if there is any clear manipulation of letters or words. In Photoshop, people can change that, and they might zoom the scan of that certification multiple times to hide the change in details.
Nowadays, people can use fake university names, which might be added to other documents that do not exist in the real world. Thus, starting the certification verification process online will save you days of research on Google and other sites.
In many countries, document forgery is a real problem. But once you follow the right steps to verify IDs and college degrees, you’ll save your company or office from bad guys who know nothing about the job they’re applying for. In other cases, you’ll avoid meeting with someone you’re dating online who never went to school. So, all of their profile details could be fake and lies.
4. Get help from social media
Social media is not like any website. You can use Google to find lots of information. But if you need to see if someone’s resume is full of lies, then use a social network. Facebook could solve the problem if there is any mention of education.
This is not like doing a real background check on people’s education. Instead, it’s a way to read what they put under their profiles and contact details. If someone is lying about their master’s degree, then they won’t add it to their social accounts as friends, and family members will notice that.
You don’t need any document verification service if the certifications that the person sent are not mentioned somewhere on any of their Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn profiles. If they’re real, they will make sure to mention them under their details. So, they could increase their chances of getting the right job. LinkedIn has a good background education tab that you can browse when visiting the person you’d like to investigate.
5. Hire a private investigator
This is not for everyone, so it’s better to keep it as the last option. If you’re willing to check the academic background of someone you suspect is lying, it’s a good idea to hire someone who is in the private investigation business like the one Social Catfish offers. Many of them offer different services in the USA.
That being said, the challenge now is how to determine which one is trusted. That’s because getting details from detectives is not always accurate if you choose the wrong person.
In case you are looking for an international education verification with a complete background check, a detective can help you.
Just ask your local neighbors if they know someone who is certified as a private investigator. They can help you with their contact details. Many of them are retired agents from governmental agencies or police departments. So, they can help more if you find no answers about whether or not the degree certification has been falsified or not.
Conclusion
Depending on what the person you want to hire or work with has as details, you may verify their education history in minutes. Just use the options that suit your needs. Or, if you don’t have the time and you look for accurate ways to verify if they lie about their degrees or not, then only the first option above can solve the problem.
