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.
