Sophisticated fraud rings are targeting America’s colleges using artificial intelligence to create “ghost students.” These are fake identities that are flooding registration systems, stealing financial aid, and locking out real students.
The Rise of Ghost Students
Across the U.S., particularly at community colleges, thousands of fake student profiles are being generated by criminal networks to enroll in online courses and apply for federal student aid. Many institutions are waking up to full classes made up of synthetic students — digital ghosts who disappear once the money lands.
“Imagine a world where 20% of the student population are fraudulent,” said Jordan Burris, VP at identity-verification firm Socure and a former White House official. “That’s the reality of the scale.”
Jeannie Kim, president of Santiago Canyon College, described her campus as being “hit hard” in fall 2024. “They were occupying our wait lists, and they were in our classrooms as if they were real humans,” Kim told Fortune. “Our real students were saying they couldn’t get into the classes they needed.”
A System Under Siege
The scams typically unfold at night, when few staff are monitoring systems. Bryce Pustos, director of administrative systems at Chaffey College, recounted a class jumping from zero to full capacity overnight. “It was a digital poltergeist,” said Burris.
