A Chinese university information website has released a list of 30 fake colleges as students begin applying to universities following the annual college entrance exam earlier this month.

This is the sixth such list released by sdaxue.com. Prior to the latest release on Sunday, it had already exposed some 400 universities as fake since 2013.

Netizens from across the country reported the names of fake colleges to the website through e-mail and social media. Website staff then investigated them, according to Xia Xue, founder of the website.

The fake colleges are located in 12 provinces and regions including Beijing, Shanghai and Shandong.

Unlike in the past, when most of the exposed schools used deceptive names and official websites that resembled those of well-known universities, 22 of the 30 fake universities imitated the names of private institutions that provide training courses for the national adult education examination, which can also be used to seek a university degree.

"It is easy to see through the trick when they fake the names of well-known universities, but it is more difficult to identify if lesser-known institutions are faked," said Xia.

The fake universities send enrollment notices, along with a bank account number, earlier than real schools and ask students to send tuition fees to the account before a deadline, according to Xia.

Three fake colleges in the provinces of Guangdong, Shandong and Hunan shared the same IP address registered in Hong Kong, suggesting the same scammers are operating multiple fake colleges.

Education authorities are coordinating with police to investigate and close the fake colleges.