More than 40 fraudulent websites have been shut down in a major crackdown on the sale of fake degrees.
The sites closed included those selling authentic-looking certificates using the names of real British universities.
Others were providers offering distance learning courses but were not valid UK degree awarding bodies.
An agency set up to investigate the issue, Higher Education Degree Datacheck(Hedd), said it had reports of more than 90 bogus institutions.
It follows a BBC South East investigation which found fake University of Kent degree certificates on sale online in China for £500.
Jayne Rowley, the higher education services director at Prospects which runs Hedd, said last September was its busiest month so far, with the closure of four bogus university sites and three websites selling fake degree certificates from multiple UK universities.
Other fake certificates have purported to have come from Salford and Anglia Ruskin universities, while degrees from the University of Manchester were sold on the auction website eBay.
The government announced a crackdown on bogus providers in June 2015, with the aim of prosecuting and taking down fraudulent websites.
Ms Rowley said Hedd had taken action against offenders both in the UK and overseas.
Hedd has now asked new graduates not to take photographs with their real degree certificates in case they inadvertently aid fraudsters.
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Degree fraud cheats both genuine learners and employers so we've taken decisive action to crack down on those seeking to profit from it."
