Do employers check college transcripts and degrees?

When applying for a job that requires a degree, can they actually check to see that the degree and transcripts are real? The reason I'm asking, a friend of mine turned me on to this website that produces fake transcripts and diplomas and they look so real. His boss didn't know it was fake and gave him a promotion because he bought a bachelor degree transcript when actually all he has is an associates. What do you think? Too risky? Moral?Do employers check college transcripts and degrees?
Unethical.





Adj.


1. unethical - not conforming to approved standards of social or professional behavior; ';unethical business practices';





wrong - contrary to conscience or morality or law; ';it is wrong for the rich to take advantage of the poor';; ';cheating is wrong';; ';it is wrong to lie';





ethical - conforming to accepted standards of social or professional behavior; ';an ethical lawyer';; ';ethical medical practice';; ';an ethical problem';; ';had no ethical objection to drinking';; ';Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants';- Omar N. Bradley





2. unethical - not adhering to ethical or moral principles; ';base and unpatriotic motives';; ';a base, degrading way of life';; ';cheating is dishonorable';; ';they considered colonialism immoral';; ';unethical practices in handling public funds';





dishonourable, immoral, base, dishonorable


wrong - contrary to conscience or morality or law; ';it is wrong for the rich to take advantage of the poor';; ';cheating is wrong';; ';it is wrong to lie';Do employers check college transcripts and degrees?
Risky? If you get caught, you will never find another professional job. You will be branded.
I read a report recently (sorry, I don't remember where) that due to the increase in the number of faked qualifications, more and more employers are checking back to make sure the qualifications presented are genuine. There are specialised service companies that do these checks, so it's not a great deal of effort for employers to start checking.





So, apart from the obvious ethical issues, I'd say that this is fairly risky, and growing increasingly so.
Take a look at some of the scandals that make the headlines..





George O'Leary: Fired in 2001 from Notre Dame about lying about a Masters degree he never earned.





Marilee Jones: Resigned in 2007 from MIT when she admitted she had lied on her resume.





There are countless other stories. These are career ending mistakes. If you work for the gov't, they can lead to serious consequences. Earlier this year John McGuire, a police officer, was charged with felonies for falsifying his qualifications.





While it might seem harmless for a job you have now, think of the consequences as you gain seniority and rank.





This doesn't even take into account the ethical issues. All of these people that lie, cheat, and steal never get anywhere. It's partly because those are short term gains at the expense of long term benefits. The bigger reason is because it's easy to see-thru people that have no ethics and standards. If you hold yourself to the highest standards, it's much easier to make it big without lying.
Risky yes, Immoral, yes. Don't do it if you want to sleep at night.
If an employer is worth working for, I wouldn't want to work for one who didn't take the time to check out the background of his future employee. If a future employee fakes his credentials and I as an employer found out, that person is toast. Honesty is still the best policy and there is no grey area between truth and a lie. It is an either/or situation. I know of at least one situation where the CEO of a major corporation faked his background. Got fired. What kind of a reference is he going to get in the future? It isn't worth the risk and no, it has no decent morality.