A USA TODAY investigation has exposed websites set up for closed universities posing as viable colleges.
Whoever is behind the copycat sites has been collecting application fees and personal student identity information. Once USA TODAY reached out to them for comment, some of the sites and their application links came down.
The investigation also found a network of fictitious colleges claiming to be accredited, generally the gold standard of legitimate universities in the U.S., however, those accreditors appear to be fabricated as well. (Do you know more about these colleges, tell us.)
