Melik-Chalkup – Istanbul

An investigation has been launched into allegations that fake diplomas from Yildiz Technical UniversityYTU) records of deceased graduates were manipulated and sold to persons unrelated to the institution.

There have been claims that diplomas appearing on the e-Devlet (e-government) platform were created by hacking into the systems of a software company serving universities in Turkey.

The alleged scheme involved deleting the information of deceased YTÜ graduates and replacing it with the information of individuals who purchased fake diplomas. These diplomas are then uploaded to e-Devlet, where they appear valid.

Gökmen Çiftçi, founder of Preliz, a software company that supports 101 universities in Turkey, spoke to Hurriyet daily about the allegations.

“Our system was launched in 2009, and it manages the academic procedures of both foundation and state universities. After the university checks and approves the list of graduates, it is sent to YÖKSİS, not by us. ” explained Çiftçi.

He emphasized that there is no flaw in his system.

“The problem occurred when a YTÜ employee’s password was hacked, allowing fraudsters to manipulate graduate records. They likely used phishing or similar tactics to gain access. “The hackers replaced the data of the deceased graduates with the details of those who purchased the fake diplomas, which evaded the system’s automatic warning mechanism,” he explained.

Preliz software detected deception When they scanned the former, it was revealed that eight fake diplomas had been issued.

“We have since implemented safeguards to prevent further changes to the records of deceased graduates.”

YTÜ responded to the situation with a statement, confirming that “administrative and legal actions initiated on September 10 are ongoing. We are closely monitoring the situation and taking necessary measures.”