The Federal Trade Commission, America's watchdog consumer agency, has issued yet another warning about an education-related scam. Entitled "Diploma Mills: Degrees of Deception", the FTC memo takes issue with diploma mills, a form of online deception practiced by companies all too eager to exploit the country's fascination with online learning and online degrees. The companies behind these diploma mills usually approach their prey using an email that promises respondents a degree based on their life experience, all in exchange for a one-time, up-front fee. Instead of setting off alarm bells, the fact that the degree requires little or even no classroom work makes the offer so mouth-watering that some just can't resist.

Those familiar with the online education phenomenon say diploma mills have been a scam waiting to happen. Distance learning and legitimate online degrees from accredited institutions like the University of Phoenix, Westwood College or Kaplan University have made it easier than ever for Americans to better their lot through education. The job qualifications that come with an online degree generally mean better pay and better career prospects.

While employers now look at legitimate online degrees with much greater favour than they did just a few years ago, they're far from keen on "diploma mill" graduates. If you get caught holding a diploma mill degree when applying for a job or - perhaps even worse - a graduate degree program, expect to be shown the door in no uncertain terms.

According to the FTC, diploma mills trolling for "graduates" often set their hook and then reel in their catch using a spurious claim of accreditation. By claiming to be "accredited", a diploma mill can easily create a sense of security in its victims.

While many people know that American colleges and universities voluntarily have their curriculum reviewed as part of the accreditation process, few are well acquainted with the approximately half a dozen regional and 80 professional accrediting associations in the United States. When a diploma mill makes up an official sounding name for its supposed accrediting association, it's easy to be fooled. One way to positively confirm a school's accreditation credentials is by checking the database of accredited colleges and universities at the Department of Education website.

Of course, says the FTC, a claim of accreditation is really just the icing on the cake for diploma mill scammers. If they're going to take the bait, most recipients of an email offering a diploma mill degree are already sucked into the scam by the idea of having their life experience "officially" recognized, especially when there's no waiting and no attendance requirement. But there are other tip-offs, too, that an email offer of a degree isn't legitimate.

Topping the list, perhaps, is the ever-present offer of a degree in exchange for a one-time payment. Genuine online colleges and universities charge by the credit hour, reminds the FTC, and not by the degree. Also, an instant degree offer made through an unsolicited email or online pop-ups is almost unquestionably a scam. Finally, be on the lookout for imitative names. While not always a dead giveaway - some search engine marketers legitimately target common misspellings of a university's name - diploma mills like to select names that intentionally mimic the names of well-known colleges and universities, a tactic that goes so far as to proffer instant degrees from institutions with foreign-sounding names that seem both persuasive and credible.

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