A 14-YEAR-OLD boy obtained a fake University of York degree certificate on the internet during an investigation into an identity card scam.

Alex Black, the son of a North Yorkshire trading standards officer, is now the proud owner of a first class honours degree in computer science from the university.

Supervised by officers, the youngster, from near Ripon, paid £160 for the certificate, and obtained fake Northern Examining Board GCSE certificates for another £80.

The joint investigation by North Yorkshire and Cumbria trading standards, which was initiated by the Trading Standards Institute, also found that fake proof-of-age, ID, employee and student cards could all be obtained from a network of suppliers.

"The project started with officers being asked to check out just how easy it would be for youngsters to obtain false proof of age cards," said a spokesman.

"But the investigation widened when it was realised just how many suppliers there were, particularly over the internet and just how easy it is to obtain false ID card, papers and qualifications from UK-based suppliers."

Ruth Taylor, who leads the county council's trading standard special investigations team, said: "These certificates look very genuine and would almost certainly deceive an employer.

"We have uncovered a big trade in false identity documents and cards indeed, with suppliers openly advertising as "fake". We only looked at UK-based suppliers but there were many many more abroad, particularly American sites."

She said that a law specifically prohibited the supply of false degrees - the Education Reform Act - but there was nothing to stop the sale of false ID cards and other qualification certificates.

Inquiries were continuing into the fake exam certificates.

She said: "Clearly this is an area which needs to be tightened up. With these cards and qualification papers, a person could be virtually anybody".

She said investigators had looked at how easy it would be for employers to check out fake degree and qualification papers by contacting the examining/issuing organisation.

"In the two cases of the York University degree and the GCSE certificate, a simple phone call could and fax did the trick."

A university spokeswoman said it would be easy to spot that the degree certificate was a fake.

"Potential employers should really authenticate such certificates. If they are in any doubt about the validity, a simple call to an awarding body should resolve the matter in the majority of cases."

Updated: 15:05 Wednesday, June 23, 2004