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fake reference

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cordimit

my sister is such an idiot. she wrote her own reference,
she doesnt have any referee. she gave a fake phone number, referee name, and
adresse, she is an eu/overseas.
what is going to happend now. doesnt ucas have an antifraud system?
wont the universities try to contact the referee?

I wish i wrote my own reference :frown:

Reply 21

thorondor

And if your sister won't withdraw her application then i'm afraid as cruel as it sounds you or someone has to stop her. UCAS are not exactly efficient with applications so i wouldn't trust them to spot it unless it was blindingly obvious. Only thing is if a uni does they would laugh off any application she made to them in the future.

Try and convince her to withdraw it, she is 22 and it will cost her one more year to reapply, carrying on like this could cost her many more years as i have said above and her career prospects. If she won't withdraw it, someone has to report her, it is for her own good.

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hafz

what do you mena she faked it? like just wrote it instead of her employer? but if her employer knows surely itll be ok? as logn her employer is willign to say they did write it? hmm...

No the thing is i believe it is possible to say you are a referee and get your own log in, and then log in to your own application and fill out both.

Reply 22

President_Ben

El Scotto

I've never had an employer check my references or qualifications yet

Then you've obviously only worked for smallish places because I know a lot of big firms do check... and I know because it was my job and we do find the lies.

Reply 23

blurboy

Since she's brave enough to commit fraud it say just let her do it.. She how she can she go.. If she gets an offer.. Then it's great.. If not it dosen't matter.. Wish I could write my own reference too!

Reply 24

Fluffy

Most unis check all overseas references...

It's also surprisingly easy to spot fakes. I have a friend who used to be the head of admissions at a university who showed me some of the 'fakes' one day when I popped in to her office for a coffee. Some were hysterical, very badly written etc. They usually stand out.

Where has she applied?

Reply 25

gianthead

Fluffy

It's also surprisingly easy to spot fakes. I have a friend who used to be the head of admissions at a university who showed me some of the 'fakes' one day when I popped in to her office for a coffee. Some were hysterical, very badly written etc. They usually stand out.

of course the badly written ones stand out, but what about the well-written ones? there is no need to assume that all fraudsters are idiots just bacause the ones that get caught are.
my own reference was badly written and somewhat incomprehensible and it was perfectly real! my tutor could hardly write in English, fortunately I was allowed to edit the reference (not the substance just the grammar and style) before sending :eek:

Reply 26

Fluffy

gianthead

Most are fairly easy to spot - you treat independent applicants with mucheos suspicion etc...

Reply 27

thorondor

blurboy

You are wrong. even if she manages to get in on a fake reference etc it is not great. If the university does find out at any stage that she did this on her application they can throw her off the course. And even if she graduates and they then find out they can take her degree away from her, leaving her without a degree, possibly causing her to lose her career prospects and certainly tarnishing her reputation.

And don't think universities don't check, they have thrown people out before for such things on applications, even as late as the third year. It is not a brave thing she has done, it is stupid and unfair to other applicants. You wouldn't be saying it was great if she got a place over you, and you found out she'd faked her reference would you. Applicants should get places based upon academic and personal qualities, not upon how well they can fake a reference. What she has done is disgraceful.

Reply 28

Jingaling

No the thing is i believe it is possible to say you are a referee and get your own log in, and then log in to your own application and fill out both.

I'm not sure how overseas applications work, but it could be easier than that. If she has applied as an individual, as you simply copy and paste the electronic text your referee has written into another reference section in Track, as I had to do that this year. It made me feel uncomfortable in itself as it could be easily faked.

Soo...I'm pretty sure that UCAS will have noticed this and performing checks on references and such like.
Your sister is in a very dangerous position as by giving fake phone numbers! If UCAS realise that her reference is fake (phone numbers included), they will remove your application, and perhaps prevent her from reapplying in the future. Not only that, Universities may not be willing to accept her application in the future.

I think you should seriously speak with your sister and ask her to withdraw her application and if she can't get a reference, wait another year!

Reply 29

bilaal

it is overseas ... trust me they unis wont be arsed in contacting the ref .... ull get offfers easy if ur ref is mature

Reply 30

Malik

She could have atleast gave a freinds phone number and address!

I wouldnt worry to much about it though, she probably would get the offers and go, its not like she gave false academics or personal infomation (assuming they dont check the reference, which is not to likely)

Reply 31

Fluffy

filter test...

bollocks

Reply 32

thorondor

Malik

That's good, lets endorse cheating, because that is what she is doing. She could well get an offer over someone else based upon a faked reference. The thing is not only is it unfair to others who did things the right way, if any university were to find out, and they can and have done in the past, they can throw her off the course, or if she has finished it can take away her degree.

Reply 33

Malik

JaDaAu

I dont endorse cheating ....If the a Uni finds out and kicks her of the course etc then let that be her fate, she will have learnt her lesson.Note though they would not take her degree away once she has finished it.

Reply 34

thorondor

Malik

Yes they can and would take her degree her away. They gave the degree and if there is reason to take the degree away, even if it was years ago with a false part of application, they are legally entitled to take that degree away, and i believe this has been done before.

It is not okay for her to even get an offer, that offer could and quite possibly should have gone to a more deserving candidate, i.e. one who did not cheat. And so it seems you are endorsing cheating, saying it's okay so long as she isn't caught.

Reply 35

happyshopper

Oh my gosh, calm down. It's only uni, its only a reference, it's not life and death. Maybe it's kinda stupid but it's not the end of the world. Some people heere need to get a sense of perspective!

Reply 36

Exile

JaDaAu

No, they cant, it would only be taken away if she cheated in an exam by various methods, and even this would need serious evidence.

You should encoruage her harder to cancel the application, its not right.

Reply 37

Fluffy

Exile

No, they cant, it would only be taken away if she cheated in an exam by various methods.

You should encoruage her harder to cancel the application, its not right.

Agreed. But if she's found out before she graduates, they could kick her out...

Reply 38

Malik

JaDaAu

Oh please, I am not encouraging her to cheat her way into university,I've come to accept that ***t happens, like I said she would probably learn her lesson one day.

Reply 39

Jingaling

It might not seem such a bad thing to fake a reference, but there are people who have worked hard to get good references etc, and the way I see it, pretty much everyone loses if she gets caught. I'm sure if most people knew that they had lost a place at the university they most wanted to go to because someone had cut corners and lied about a reference they wouldn't be too chipper.

I'm sure she's worked hard and wants to get into a university, but I feel that your sister has been very naive in choosing to fake a reference and I think that perhaps you should remind her of the consequences not just for her future. It seriously is best to get a good reference from an employer which could take an hour or just see if she will withdraw her application.