According to the BBC, there have been important developments in the world of fake degrees.

The article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/
2829237.stm) says that "several websites offering fake British degrees...have been closed down."

The "made-up" institutions were run from offices in Israel, Romania and the United States. A postal address in north London, British-sounding names, and invented membership organisations were used to give the "universities" a veneer of credibility. The operation, which was advertised by email, is thought to have made millions of pounds.

The websites mentioned have disappeared, which is good news. But there is no mention in the article of prosecutions, so it's doubtful that we have seen the last of this problem.

Indeed, one of the Trading Standards Investigators who worked with US authorities on the case admitted:
"It was a difficult operation to crack. The problem was that the people sending out the e-mails weren't conning anyone."

The warning from the DfES is clear:
"Bogus Degrees: Not all organisations that appear to be UK HE institutions are permitted to award UK degrees."
(www.dfes.gov.uk/recognisedukdegrees/)

So if you're looking for a degree course, choose with care.

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The DfES website has details of:

• institutions that are recognised by the UK authorities as having the power to award their own degrees (www.dfes.gov.uk/recognisedukdegrees/
  annex4.shtml)
  
  
• Other institutions, which do not have the power to award their own degrees, but which provide courses which lead to a degree of a recognised body (www.dfes.gov.uk/recognisedukdegrees/
  annex5.shtml)