However did they actually know their stuff or did they fake that too? If the person is 100% proficient and knows the domain well, I don't see why the diploma is even that necessary.
Don't get me wrong, we all bought into the "education is vital for survival" and I worked hard in college for that summa cum laude honors, but in the end it is probably open source work, code samples and my behavior during the interview that got me the job.
And in some cases even pets have been granted diplomas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diploma_mill
I'd find it shocking if someone I trusted used a fake reference service or a diploma mill, but it's not at all shocking that these exist.