Lying about having a college degree is mere "embellishment", according to this.

[exboyfil]

14. We terminated a very good engineer

who had worked for many years as a consultant to us prior to full employment. He had lied about having an engineering degree (he was a few credits short). Lying on a resume is a very serious offense. Having a degree is either something that is or is not. I characterize my PhD pursuit as finishing all classes towards the PhD. I do not say I was all but dissertation because that would not be true. I can point to the hours on my transcript and verify my claim. Chances are if I said that I just never completed my dissertation I could get away with it, but why take the risk.

Engineers are often called upon to testify in patent and liability cases. Having lied on my resume could be used to damage my testimony and my credibility as a professional. That is the same for all professions.

I was shocked that Yahoo waited as long as it did. Such a misrepresentation would have a corrosive effect on the organization as a whole.