South Korean forgers trading elite university degrees for $200 worth of crypto — report

Social media-based forgers are offering crypto-paying South Koreans a plethora of fake official documents, including university degree certificates.

Would-be customers need only pay just over $200 worth of crypto for a graduation certificate that, to the untrained eye, looks identical to those issued by Yonsei University, South Korean media outlet Herald Kyungjae reported.

Yonsei is one of the country’s top universities, and placed fiftieth in the QS 2026 global rankings.

“I can send you a certificate of enrolment [at a top university] for $100,” a Telegram-based forger told a Herald Kyungjae reporter. “Just provide your information, and we will deliver it to you within two hours.”

The report comes as police in South Korea continue efforts to crack down on so-called “revenge agencies” that take USDT payments in exchange for violent crime.

Crypto payment tools

The forger told the reporter they prefer payment in crypto or digital gift certificates, as they believe these payment methods offer them anonymity.

“If you pay [for forged certificates] using a bank transfer, you, as the customer, could also become a target of a police investigation,” the forger told the newspaper.

When the reporter tried to break off the conversation, the forger got back in touch later, warning that many “competitor agencies” offering similar services are be run by scammers.

The forger also told the reporter a fake graduation certificate from a foreign university would cost $341.

“These certificates look 100% identical to the originals,” the forger said.

Police say the number of people arrested for forgery in South Korea almost doubled between 2021 and 2023, and said many cases of forgery go undetected.

The forgers reportedly offer “customers” a wide range of fake documents, including driving licenses, family relationship documents, criminal record certificates, and bank loan documents.

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin is trading for $75,487 on Sunday, down 0.7% over the past day. 
• Ethereum prices are down over 1% in the past 24 hours, with the coin trading at $2,329.

What we’re reading

• SEC tackles crypto in first episode of new podcast — DL News
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• Hackers target DeFi protocol Kelp DAO in massive $300m exploit — DL News 
• Lighter vs. Hyperliquid: who wins? — Milk Road
• How a 233-year-old Wall Street institution went all in on crypto — Bloomberg

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tdalper@dlnews.com.