University of Redwood
Encyclopedia
University of Redwood is a fictitious college claiming to be located in Oregon in the United States. It can be confused with Reed College
in Portland, Oregon
, or the College of the Redwoods
in Eureka, California
.
The Redwood website copies the Reed website, except it substitutes the institution's name. However, on at least the About page, the copiers failed and at one point left the Reed name intact. The street address and phone numbers for Reed's Cooley Art Gallery remain intact on the Redwood site. At one point, the entire faculty directory of Reed was listed on the Redwood site. While Reed was founded by Simeon and Amanda Reed, Redwood was founded by Simeon and Amanda Redwood.
As first reported by Inside Higher Ed, at least one man living in China created the Redwood site in June 2010. Reed first discovered the Redwood site in October 2010 and sent letters to Redwood's internet service provider
under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
demanding that the copyright
ed materials be taken down. The site was removed within a few days. However, the site was restored in November when its owners claimed that the infringing materials were removed. Reed officials rediscovered the site in January 2011; as of February 2011 they once again were able to have the site taken down. According to Martin Ringle, chief technology officer of Reed, the site could be used to collect admission application fees fraudulently from Asian students. Upon receiving an application, "a shrewd scammer could wait several weeks, then issue a rejection letter, and the student would never know" that Redwood did not exist. Ringle claimed he found Redwood mentioned on Asian higher-education blog
s.
The Redwood website lists a mailing address in Torrance, California
, that belongs to a mail-forwarding company. That company forwards the mail to China
. It also lists a fax
number with a 650 area code
, which is assigned to the Bay Area south of San Francisco, California
.
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, or the College of the Redwoods
College of the Redwoods
College of the Redwoods is a public two-year community college whose main campus, comprising , is located on the southernmost edge of Eureka in Humboldt County, California. This sprawling site is spacious and distinctive in its modernistic use of massive, exposed wooden support beams in each...
in Eureka, California
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
.
The Redwood website copies the Reed website, except it substitutes the institution's name. However, on at least the About page, the copiers failed and at one point left the Reed name intact. The street address and phone numbers for Reed's Cooley Art Gallery remain intact on the Redwood site. At one point, the entire faculty directory of Reed was listed on the Redwood site. While Reed was founded by Simeon and Amanda Reed, Redwood was founded by Simeon and Amanda Redwood.
As first reported by Inside Higher Ed, at least one man living in China created the Redwood site in June 2010. Reed first discovered the Redwood site in October 2010 and sent letters to Redwood's internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
demanding that the copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed materials be taken down. The site was removed within a few days. However, the site was restored in November when its owners claimed that the infringing materials were removed. Reed officials rediscovered the site in January 2011; as of February 2011 they once again were able to have the site taken down. According to Martin Ringle, chief technology officer of Reed, the site could be used to collect admission application fees fraudulently from Asian students. Upon receiving an application, "a shrewd scammer could wait several weeks, then issue a rejection letter, and the student would never know" that Redwood did not exist. Ringle claimed he found Redwood mentioned on Asian higher-education blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s.
The Redwood website lists a mailing address in Torrance, California
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
, that belongs to a mail-forwarding company. That company forwards the mail to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It also lists a fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
number with a 650 area code
Area code 650
North American area code 650 is a California telephone area code which includes most of San Mateo County and the extreme northwestern portion of Santa Clara County including Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Los Altos....
, which is assigned to the Bay Area south of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.