Do most employers "really" check to see if someone has a 4 year college degree?

Depends on the company and the position. In general, it is more likely now that it was just a few years ago. The bigger the company and the higher up the job title the more likely you will be vetted in one way or another. I work for a company that checks everything -- somebody got burned many moons ago and it seems very likely that hell will freeze over before we make that mistake again. Personally, as a hiring manager, I find that checking references is second only to my interview in judging how good of a match a candidate is to the job and our company. Individual managers (like me, for example) can also be sticklers for the rules, even if the company is not. That said, it is worth mentioning that "firm requirements" get very squishy & flexible with age and experience. And, lying in general is never a good idea in a job search.

Nowadays getting that information is as easy as sending an email... so *most* employers check before hiring. Even if they don't... if you were to lie on your application and get hired, and they were ever to find out (for example, if they ever had reason to check your credentials for, say, insurance purposes, or do a background check for security clearance) you could, and most likely would, be immediately fired for giving false information (and potentially have fraud charges brought against you if they decided they wanted to recover the salary they paid you).

They ABSOLUTELY check.

NO