[WheatMillington]

This reads like it was written by someone cosplaying as an adult. A college degree is not an irreplaceable piece of paper to be guarded with your life - otherwise it would live in a vault somewhere. You can trivially have the certificate reprinted.

[Animats]

Less true than it used to be. Here's Stanford's duplicate diploma ordering portal.[1] It's a big deal, there's a lot of verification, and it costs at least US$100.

There's an easier way.[2] "But now it's easier than ever to purchase a fake copy of your diploma. At Same Day Diplomas, we provide high-quality copies of your college diploma. Our products are crafted to match the design, seals, and color of your university's diploma."

Which is why it's become much harder to get a duplicate real one.

There's online third party diploma verification, and it probably works about as badly as most other online credential services.

[1] https://studentservices.stanford.edu/diplomas/how-do-i-order...

[2] https://samedaydiplomas.com/blogs/news/oops-i-lost-my-colleg...

[adastra22]

…so? I never even received my degree certificate. It is a meaningless piece of paper. If an employer wants to verify my credentials, they don’t ask for it. They call/email the school.

[bee_rider]

A $100 cost seems like weak leverage to keep a person in a country.

[nonethewiser]

Do you think I’m lying? Asking because the cosplaying comment. Your reasoning is not lost on me but I see no reason to suggest Im being dishonest.

If it’s that simple he will be relieved to here it. Frankly I’m not sure why it’s such a big deal either.

[hayst4ck]

He is not understanding the mechanics of it.

In America a degree is a piece of paper. I could go to my college and ask for a replacement and they'll give me one for $50-100.

A company could call my college and verify I earned a degree without ever seeing a piece of paper.

I know I've read something similar to what you are saying, so I don't think your comment was bad faith, but I forget the specific mechanics of the type of coercion you are talking about.

I suspect it might be China invalidating a Chinese citizens degree if they do the wrong thing or China invalidating the verification of a degree that's respected in China, leaving a person in China without credentials that are respected in China. Alternatively it might be about controlling people who earned a degree in China.

I couldn't find the type of coercion you were talking easily with google. A simple article explaining the mechanics of what you're talking about would likely clear everything up.

[TMWNN]

> This reads like it was written by someone cosplaying as an adult.

Not necessarily. From my understanding, in Asia the actual diploma is often used as a credential for obtaining employment. (The context is reading about a con man who set up a fake job listing to attract Western job candidates, obtained copies of applicants' diplomas, then used them to construct a fake diploma that he used to get a job for himself.)