London: British authorities here have uncovered a scam aimed at luring international students to come and study in the UK by designing a glitzy website of what was called `Glastonbury University`, which simply does not exist.
Glastonbury, with a population of nearly 10,000, is a small town in Somerset, south-west England, better known for the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, which has attracted thousands of people every year since the 1970s. But Glastonbury has lately been in the news after the Somerset County Council uncovered the Malaysia-origin scam that used the town’s name and set up the website, which has now been taken down.
The council was alerted to the scam after a London university reported it had received an application from a student claiming to have a degree from ‘Glastonbury University’.
The website used the glitzy image of the David Wilson Library at the University of Leicester, and claimed it as its campus. It claimed to be well regarded for its research and mentioned the names of ‘departments’ and other details to lend authenticity.
The website boasted that the university was "a leading private and independent university of world standing".
"It was feared the website, which promoted a fictitious university was being used to rip-off unsuspecting applicants particularly in the Far East," the council said.
It said that "a London university reported it receiving an application from a student who claimed to have a degree from Glastonbury University", police officials said. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Balochistan has witnessed a surge in militant and sectarian violence in recent months.
Thirteen Shia Hazara men were gunned down by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militants in provincial capital Quetta yesterday.
PTI