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For employers and HR
The reference check that catches a fake degree
You have the referees' numbers and a conditional offer out. None of those referees holds a degree record, but if you choose every route yourself, three calls can still expose a fake degree. Here's what to say.
The afternoon that went a little too well
Say it's Thursday afternoon. You ring the number on the reference form, and the referee answers on the second ring: warm about the candidate and, unprompted, proud of their MBA.
Then you email the "registrar" at the address on the CV, and a reply confirms the degree, crest and all.
Now trace each voice back: the candidate gave you the referee's number and wrote the registrar's address.
The question that catches a fake. Who chose the route to the person answering? The candidate picks the referees. You pick the number, the address and the university office: any route the candidate hands you, someone could have built.
Done this way, a reference check tests three things the degree check can't: the referee is real, the employer existed when claimed, and the job fits the degree's dates and place.
Audit the reference file on your desk
A referee who "confirms" a degree is repeating what they were told. Acas, the workplace adviser for England, Scotland and Wales, calls a reference no substitute for other checks.
| The candidate gave you | Your own route |
|---|---|
| A mobile number for the referee | The company's main number or HR team, found yourself |
| A personal email for the referee | An address on the company's own website |
| A UK employer's name | Companies House: incorporation date, earlier names, officers |
| A US employer's name | Its state's business register, via the SBA's state registration lookup. Check it existed during the job; records vary by state. |
| An Australian or New Zealand employer's name | ASIC's registers or the New Zealand Companies Register |
| A ready-written reference letter | Treat it as a lead and confirm it with the employer |
| A certificate's "verify" link or registrar's address | The university's records, through Hedd in the UK, the National Student Clearinghouse in the US or My eQuals in Australia and New Zealand |
If the employer might be invented, its website and switchboard might be too:
- Check the officers on Companies House: if the candidate or referee is one, ask, as that changes the reference's worth. Sole traders, partnerships and public bodies may not be listed.
- Treat a mismatch between the registered office and the website as a question: firms can register at an accountant's or agent's address.
- Found only a website and a mobile number? Record the job as not confirmed.
Unsure whether a registrar's address is real? Try our verification check.
Before you dial
- Wait for the offer, and ask first. Acas advises asking for an employment reference at the offer stage, with the applicant's permission, and asking only for what you need: here, title, dates and place.
- Say who you are. Never pose as a customer to test a referee: obtaining personal data by a ruse can be an offence under section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
- Get written consent for the degree check. Hedd needs proof of it; our consent wording is a starting point.
Hiring in the US through a screening company?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a stand-alone written notice and the candidate's written permission first.
If it asks referees about character, the law calls it an investigative report, and the candidate must also be told they can ask for a description of its nature and scope.
Before rejecting someone over the report, you must give them a copy and a summary of their rights, so they can explain. State and local laws can add more.
The reference check script: three calls, in this order
Start with the degree: it's the only yes-or-no call, and its dates are what the work history must fit.
-
Call one: the university, the call that isn't a reference at all
Find the university on its official register: the Office for Students Register for England (GOV.UK's guide covers the other UK nations) or DAPIP in the US.
Then ask its records office or verification service, by phone or online request:
"I'm [name] from [organisation], with the graduate's signed consent. Was [full name], born [date of birth], awarded [degree] in [subject], and what are their dates of attendance and award?"
Why these words. You ask the university for its own record, so a polished certificate can't sway the answer.
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Call two: the former employer, front desk first
2a. The front desk. Ring the number you found yourself and start with the facts:
"I'm [name] from [organisation]. [Candidate] has accepted our conditional offer and named [referee] as a referee. Could you confirm their job title, dates of employment and where they were based?"
Why these words. Some employers give only title and dates. Place is where a fake degree shows: the US Federal Trade Commission suggests checking a full-time job's location against the school's.
Told references go through central HR in writing? Send the same questions there.
2b. The referee. Keep your reference check questions on the work, and ask things you can check afterwards:
"Who did [name] report to, and which team or office were they in? What did they take on in their first few months? Who else from that team could I speak to?"
Check the names, office and reporting line against the front desk and the CV; warmth without detail tells you little. Ask the candidate before contacting anyone new.
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Call three: the candidate, if anything doesn't fit
A mismatch is a question, not a verdict: universities merge, switchboards slip, and many people study while working. Ask about the specific thing:
"Your CV has you working full-time in [city] while studying at [university] in [another city]. Can you tell me how that worked?"
"We rang [company]'s main number and they couldn't find [referee]. Is there another way to reach them, or someone else from that job?"
Then listen. Some people will tell you something true they wish they'd said at the start. Hear it before you decide.
Reading what came back
| What came back | What to do next |
|---|---|
| The university finds no record | Perhaps a former name or a typo. Check details with the candidate and retry; if there's still nothing, the degree isn't confirmed. |
| The university isn't on its country's register | Check the awarding body and any former name. If it's still not listed, treat it as not recognised until UK ENIC or the awarding country's authority says otherwise. |
| The referee confirms the degree | They hold no record, so this is hearsay. Rely on call one. |
| The company was incorporated after the job supposedly started | Perhaps an older business incorporated later, a reused name or a typo. Check earlier names, then ask. |
| Job dates and places clash with the degree | Perhaps distance or part-time study. Run the dates through our CV check, then call three. |
The same afternoon, rerouted
Same candidate, same Thursday.
| Their route | Your route |
|---|---|
| 2.10pm You ring the form's mobile | The switchboard, asking for the referee by name |
| 2.15pm Warm praise, and the MBA | You're put through, or reception has never heard of them |
| 2.40pm No check: you take the firm on trust | Companies House: incorporated after the job began. A question for call three. |
| 3pm You email the CV's "registrar" | You request the record through Hedd, or the records office Hedd lists |
| 4.30pm A reply, crest and all | A request number. The answer comes once the university checks its record. |
Their route answered fastest. Yours answered from the record.
When the degree doesn't check out
Log every check in a line like this:
[Check] · route: [number or service, and where you found it] · answer: [confirmed / differs / no record] · by [name], [date]
Before deciding, tell the candidate neutrally:
"We couldn't confirm [item] through [route]. Is there anything we've missed, or another way to check?"
Follow your policy, and take legal advice before withdrawing an offer or dismissing anyone.
To report suspected degree fraud or a bogus institution, use Hedd's contact page. More in our employers' guide and what a fake degree can cost.
Sources
- Acas: Job references: when to ask, permission
- Acas: What employers can say in a reference: basic references, other checks
- Acas: What we do: workplaces in England, Scotland and Wales
- Hedd: FAQs: consent, turnaround, providers outside Hedd
- Hedd: Contact us: reporting a bogus institution or degree fraud
- FTC: Avoid Fake-Degree Burns by Researching Academic Credentials: job and school locations
- EEOC and FTC: Background Checks, What Employers Need to Know: notice, investigative reports, the chance to explain
- GOV.UK: Get information about a company: registered address, incorporation date, officers, previous names
- GOV.UK: Registered office address rules: an accountant's, solicitor's or agent's address can be used
- SBA: State registration lookup: each state's business registration office
- ASIC: Search ASIC registers and New Zealand Companies Register: company searches
- GOV.UK: Set up a business: sole traders and companies
Check it before you trust it. The free tools in the Fake Degree Lab look at a CV, a school's website, a message or a "verification" service and show the warning signs, with links to the official registers.