The House of Deception: A Call Center Worker's Story
There was a guy in Pakistan, let's call him Faizan, who toiled away in a call center for eight long years. One day, a chance encounter with a group of friends led him to AXACT. Their website boasted of global IT leadership, a massive fleet of vehicles, and a gleaming, six-story headquarters. Compared to his previous workplace, it seemed like a dream come true. Faizan and his friends applied, and soon enough, they were all celebrating new jobs in this seemingly impressive company.
The initial role involved customer support for various clients. But Faizan's world quickly shifted when he was assigned to a "university" called Manchester University (England). Here, the job transformed from basic support to a commission-based hustle. He was expected to convince students to sign up for classes, with the promise of extra pay for every successful enrollment. However, the calls were scarce, and the meager commission earned him peanuts. The real money seemed to be flowing to others, whose leaderboards displayed insane amounts earned from promoting different "universities." These colleagues guarded their clients fiercely, leaving Faizan with little chance to climb the sales ladder.
Frustrated, Faizan approached his boss for a better opportunity. This led him to Baytown University, a new client with the promise of higher commissions. Here, the deception truly began to unfold. A team of developers whipped up a website boasting scholarships, student aid, and a fake #4 ranking within days. Faizan and his colleagues, now including webmasters and marketers, underwent training to become "experts" in these fabricated online courses.
A nagging suspicion arose as Faizan started receiving calls and emails from potential students. The university, established a few weeks prior, had a bogus US address. A quick Google search confirmed his fears – the address didn't exist. This was when the realization hit him: AXACT was creating fake universities, preying on people's aspirations, and selling them worthless degrees.
Initially, students seemed oblivious. Later, some even felt they were cheating the system, breezing through entire courses in mere minutes. The website listed fake accreditations and endorsements from non-existent figures like Senator John Kerry. AXACT even manufactured fake personas for supposed university staff, readily viewable on LinkedIn.
The student "accounts" created on the website served a sinister purpose. They collected personal information like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter profiles. This intel was used to manipulate students during calls, using any detail to pressure enrollment. Even worse, student emails and passwords were stored in plain text, accessible to Faizan and his colleagues. This allowed them to log in to student social media accounts and track their online activity during calls.
AXACT's marketing team wasn't idle either. They scoured job boards like Indeed and Jobberman, targeting potential victims by identifying individuals who posted resumes. Armed with this information, they contacted these individuals, pushing them to enroll at Baytown University, claiming it would boost their job prospects. The scam primarily targeted people from the US, UK, Europe, and wealthy nations like the UAE and Saudi Arabia. AXACT even offered fake high school diplomas.
While some employees felt uneasy, AXACT offered a seductive package of benefits that rivaled Google, but with a tenfold amplification. Their offices boasted a chef-staffed kitchen where employees could order anything for free. They partnered with high-end restaurants for online deliveries, ensuring employees were well-fed both at work and home. Free groceries, medical attention for immediate family members, and even concert and cricket match tickets were all part of the package. They even offered a yacht for employee use (with the caveat of a grueling 29-day work month with only one day off). Essentially, AXACT aimed to eliminate any need for personal errands, allowing employees to focus solely on the scam.
The base pay wasn't impressive, but the 1% commission on enrollments, coupled with the extravagant perks, created a situation where employees lacked any financial worries. Once enrolled, students were bombarded with calls to complete their "degrees" faster by paying additional fees for newly released courses. Some students likely knew it was a sham, while others believed the website's fabricated accreditations.
Graduation ceremonies weren't left out. AXACT sent gowns to students, prompting them to take photos holding their "certificates" for website posting. This elaborate scheme offered fake engineering, teaching, English, and law degrees, along with high school diplomas. However, Faizan claims they stayed away from medical degrees due to the potential for serious repercussions. Ironically, a CBC news report in Canada later revealed nurses and psychiatrists who purchased fake degrees from AXACT.
The Crumbling Facade and a Twisted Legal Battle:
With each university's "success," AXACT churned out new ones, anticipating the inevitable exposure of the previous ventures. One such university, christened New Ford University, even had a fabricated promotional video featuring a non-existent head of the institution. A team of actors played the roles of deans, professors, and administrators, ready to answer any inquiries about the fabricated school.
Faizan's team, with a monthly target of a staggering $2.4 million, faced fierce competition from 22 other teams within the company. The leaderboard displayed their progress in real-time, fueling an intense sales environment. Desperate for higher commissions, some call center agents resorted to manipulative tactics. They'd pose as local government officials, threatening students with invalid degrees unless they coughed up "importation fees" of $10,000. Another trick involved impersonating recruiters, offering jobs to graduates and then demanding additional qualifications – qualifications conveniently purchasable through AXACT "programs." Incredibly, some graduates landed jobs with these fake degrees, only to be targeted later by AXACT employees posing as blackmailers. They'd threaten to expose the graduates to their employers unless a hefty sum was paid.
The audacity didn't stop there. AXACT even attempted to re-scam some victims by turning them into unwitting accomplices. They'd propose a scheme where the students would receive a cut for channeling payments from new victims through their accounts.
The Mastermind and the Downfall:
AXACT, masterminded by Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh who also owned the BOL television network, faced its first legal hurdle in 2009. A woman from Michigan, scammed into a fake high school diploma from AXACT's Belford High School, filed a lawsuit that morphed into a class-action suit involving over 30,000 plaintiffs. AXACT, desperate to avoid tarnishing its image, sent a relatively unknown individual named Salaam to take the fall. Salaam, through a staged video call, claimed to be the sole creator of the fake schools, operating from his room and completely unaffiliated with AXACT. He "apologized" and vanished, never paying the court-ordered $22.4 million in damages.
However, the facade began to crumble when investigative journalist Declan Walsh of the New York Times exposed AXACT's web of over 300 fake universities. This triggered an investigation by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). While a raid on AXACT's office yielded little (coincidentally, none of the executives were present), enough evidence was gathered to issue arrest warrants for 23 individuals, including Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh. Unfortunately, the identities and fates of the remaining 22 accused remain shrouded in mystery. News reports suggest they were all quickly released on bail.
The investigation also unearthed Salaam, who confessed to being paid a measly $250 by AXACT to take the blame and disappear. Documents revealed that AXACT had raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from this elaborate scam, swindling over 200,000 people worldwide. It was a global fraud of epic proportions.
A Perverted Justice System and Lingering Shadows:
The legal battle took a bizarre turn when the judge, Pervaiz-ul-Qadir Memon, inexplicably acquitted all the accused. However, subsequent investigations revealed a $18,000 bribe received by the judge, leading to his dismissal and the reopening of the case. The number of accused now stood at 27.
Umair Hamid, AXACT's vice president residing in the US, faced separate legal action. He pleaded guilty and served a year and a half in prison. Finally, in 2018, a Pakistani court found 23 AXACT employees and executives guilty. However, none of them showed up for sentencing, prompting the judge to issue arrest warrants and prison sentences. The highest sentence was a mere 7 years, with a collective total of 20 years in prison and fines for all.
Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh eventually lost control of his television network in 2023 when another company acquired it. Ironically, despite his 2018 conviction, he wasn't arrested until 2023. Even then, his detention lasted a mere two days before the FIA released him based on some undisclosed documents.
The story doesn't have a completely satisfying ending. AXACT's operations may still be ongoing, with its CEO seemingly evading any real consequences. The case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers lurking in the digital landscape and the importance of thorough research before enrolling in online programs.
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