Ghost students scam community colleges by stealing financial aid

Student Services has created new policies campuswide to combat AI scammers impersonating real students.

By Rosemary Villalonga, News Editor

Millions of dollars in financial aid are being lost to identity fraud across California community colleges, resulting in new protective procedures at Valley College.

 “Ghost students” is the term used to refer to scammers who are using AI and identity theft to infiltrate community colleges and receive financial aid. Through the use of AI, scammers are able to effortlessly submit hundreds of fraudulent applications.

This makes it difficult for verification systems to distinguish them from real student applications. College campuses are unable to keep up as AI becomes more advanced, accessible and believable.

According to California Community Colleges, about $3 million in state funding and $10 million in federal funding was lost due to fraud in 2024. Additionally, that same year they found that 31.4 percent of all applications to the state's 116 community colleges were fraudulent.

“It’s unfortunate that there’s a lot of money being taken out of financial aid,” said film student Violet Tangen. “There’s a lot of people that need financial aid for real and need the money.” 

Valley has acted on fraudulent activity through identity verification practices in offices such as Admissions and Financial Aid. These offices require students to provide a physical form of ID in order to receive specific information. Electronic photos of ID are no longer acceptable and either a school- or government-issued card must be shown before receiving information.

The financial aid office is attempting to prevent further increase of fraudulent activity through a new procedure which came into effect at the start of Spring 2026. 

The notice is posted on the Financial Aid Homepage on the school’s website. It indicates that “student-specific” information will no longer be available over the phone or through online chat. Detailed information like award amounts, disbursement dates and record specific details will only be given in person after a student provides valid identification. The website also says the procedure is being placed in order to “protect student records and prevent identity theft.” 

“It can be inconvenient because what if you can’t go into the office,” nursing student Angie Meza said. “But I see why they’re doing it, because AI is taking over everything, it’s reasonable.”