Following reports about social media advertisements promising to deliver Mumbai University (MU) marksheets to your doorstep for a fee of INR 10,000 to INR 20,000, the MU administration has taken swift action. In a statement released on April 17, Mumbai University said it would be filing a complaint with the police and urged people to be mindful of scams involving forged examination results.
A Pune resident spotted an advertisement on Facebook that said he could receive his Mumbai University degree at home in one day for INR 10,000 to INR 12,000, and that's how the university learned about the fraudulent scheme. A fake marksheet for the sixth semester of the Bachelor of Science course was sent over WhatsApp to the person who had called the number provided in the commercial. After that, the fraudsters ask for an advance payment of INR 2,000.
The purported marksheet of BSc Semester VI, dated April 6, 2024, according to Mumbai University, is a fake document created using Photoshop or other tools and is signed by the previous director of examination, the university said in a statement released on April 17 night. The statement also urged people to be cautious of degree givers and fake marksheets.
The fake marksheet scam is not a new one. Last year in Pune, eight individuals were booked for their involvement in arranging 11 fake boards and universities, including Mumbai University, along with distributing certificates to several students. A police inquiry revealed that in exchange for the issuance of false mark sheets and other papers, the accused collected a substantial sum of money. The distribution of fake certificates was associated with 2,739 students. This resulted in the accused receiving payments in exchange for papers and marksheets ranging from INR 35,000 to INR 80,000.
In another case, the BKC police detained three engineering students and two employees of Mumbai University for allegedly forging official signatures and presenting false certifications. The five allegedly used fictitious revaluation certificates signed by the deputy registrar of the revaluation section to help at least 41 students who had failed their semester exams get re-admission.
The crew typed the certificate on university letterhead using Photoshop and then added a fake signature. Each document is priced at INR 10,000. The scam was discovered when representatives of a city college noticed irregularities with some of the certificates that students had submitted, said a police official.
Exam House officials at the university claim that a college notified them of a "bogus certificate" that a re-admissions student had submitted, which contained a fake deputy registrar's signature. Police discovered 41 such incidents after contacting other related engineering institutes. The quantity of these fake certifications was concerning and indicated a problem. A police report was made at the BKC police station immediately.
In 2022, Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 11 arrested a gang that was reportedly producing fake university certificates. The police reported that they had gotten a tip that two individuals, Pritesh Jain and Raviprakash Morya, were manufacturing fraudulent university certificates out of an office in Borivali East, close to the National Park. Following their apprehension, their workplace was searched, and police found laptops, two hard drives, INR 1 lakh in cash, pen drives, many certificates, and other documents.
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