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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.

AMSimpkins & Associates CEO Laqwacia Simpkins explained how scammers overwhelm systems with bulk applications around enrollment deadlines or holidays. “They push through hundreds and thousands of records at the same time and overwhelm the staff.”

These schemes are further complicated by the attackers' use of stolen identities and AI-generated email accounts. At one college, over 400 FAFSA applications traced back to just a few recycled phone numbers.

Tech Arms Race

Santiago Canyon College dropped more than 10,000 fake enrollments between fall 2024 and spring 2025. The Department of Education has responded by identifying nearly 150,000 suspect identities and now requires institutions to validate identities for FAFSA applicants.

“These are organized criminal enterprises,” said Maurice Simpkins, president of AMSimpkins. His firm has tracked fraud rings in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nairobi.

Michael Fink, CTO of Chaffey College, said bots once applied for all 36 seats in a class within one minute. “We’ll see things like 50 applications coming in within two seconds,” he said.

Real Students Pay the Price

Behind the fraud are real-world consequences. Students who planned jobs or childcare around a specific class can’t enroll because ghost students took the seats.

“One of the professors was so excited their class was full… and found out they were not real people,” recalled John Van Weeren of IT consulting firm Voyatek.

Preserving Access, Fighting Fraud

Despite the challenges, educators remain committed to equity. “The more barriers you put in place, the more you’re going to impact students who need the most help,” said Jesse Gonzalez, assistant vice chancellor at Rancho Santiago Community College District.

Kim echoed the need for balance. “Our ability to provide that democratic education… is in jeopardy because of these bad actors turning our system into their own piggy banks.”

Related Links

• U.S. Department of Education Press Release
• Socure Blog on Ghost Students
• Podcast Transcript – Office of Inspector General