2025: Fraudulent Applications & Sensitive Information

February 5, 2025

Overview

A perfect storm of circumstances has led to a significant increase in fraudulent applications, in higher education, from so called “ghost students” or “Pell runners”.  Community colleges have been particularly vulnerable – scammers apply for federal and state financial aid, pocket the funds and vanish without ever attending classes.

With the pandemic of 2020, institutions saw the prevalence of online scams. There was a shift from in-person to online and hybrid learning as well as the rise of AI (artificial intelligence) technology. This shift also made it difficult for professors to confirm the actual attendance rates of their students.

Overview End

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