> a fake degree might land a job
I think the question was about fake institutions, not fake applicants. So, some places just need minimal qualifications as a formality, so there is no geneiva daas involved.
Other places need a real degree with professional knowledge, so they protect themselves by hiring from known institution and avoiding College of Lower Catskills.
Still, many people go to such degree mills, spend some money on it and then discover that they are not employable. This would be geneiva daas. Acknowledging that the same is happening with nominally respectable colleges in their non-employable departments. Not to Avira: there are many degree programs where nonsense classes that you mention are required at a minimum and do not constitute bulk of studies. Your sources may be biased or misinformed.