“Employers rarely verify if the claimed higher education/degree on a resume is real, before hiring”
Perhaps if you are applying for a job where academic credentials are marginal to the skills-set need to perform effectively. However, just about all the firms I have worked with in the legal and financial sectors DO take academic yichus seriously and verify both resume claims of degrees, honors etc. Those listing a degree on their resume purchased from some online diploma mill or lying about a degree from a respected university are unlikely to even get to the interview phase of employment screening.
Its a totally separate question whether some positions list totally unnecessary academic requirements relative to an objective assessment of what is needed for the actual job functions or whether some employers continue to focus on graduates of certain Ivy League schools while ignoring really qualified candidates from really good universities w/o the “reputation”.