Similar posts advertising “official” certificate services for prices ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 ringgit were shared elsewhere on Facebook here And hereand have been appearing since at least 2023 here, here, here And here.
The fake certificates were also offered for sale on Instagram, including here And hereby accounts that had tens of thousands of followers.
AFP contacted one of the sellers and was given an order form asking for personal information, such as the buyer’s full name and delivery address. In addition, the scammer asked potential buyers to send their identity details and provide a digital signature.
However, the Ministry of Education does not outsource the processing of applications for examination certificates and has previously warned against social media pages posing as the ministry.
Imitation pages
The Education Ministry told AFP it had never appointed an “agent or private individual” to handle requests for copies or translations of exam results.
“All official matters relating to examination certificates are handled exclusively by the examination board,” the ministry said on August 14.
The ministry added that the examination board services are only provided online on their official website and not through phone or WhatsApp.
The real certificates issued by the examination board only contain the Malaysian coat of arms — not, as seen in images shared by the scammers, the logo of the Examination Board (archived links here And here).
The Ministry of Education has previously warned the public should beware of fake social media sites that misuse the official name and logo of the ministry (archived link).
“The public is advised not to be misled by the services offered,” the July 31 statement said.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education has also filed a police report over the alleged sale of fake academic certificates, state news agency Bernama reported. reported on August 1st (archived link).
Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said several cases of academic certificate fraud have come to light following complaints from the public about fraud syndicates misleading victims by using the names of higher education institutions.
According to Bernama, the scam targets people who are “desperate to obtain academic qualifications to secure employment”.
AFP has previously debunked other fake accounts posing as government agencies here And here.
