Warning: 'Ghost Students' getting federal student aid with help of AI, stealing people's identities
NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) -- With the deadline for the free application for federal student aid, also known as FAFSA just days away, there is a warning about scammers going after students' identities to get financial aid dollars.
Cybersecurity experts call them "ghost students," which are created using real people's stolen identities with the help of AI. "They stay just long enough to trigger the financial aid disbursements, and once those are triggered, then they disappear," says Jakub Vavra with Avast, a digital security company, "Unfortunately, whoever's identity they've used to gather that financial aid is then left with the consequences."
Vavra explains that scammers can get personal information from data breaches or through phishing scams and that scammers are using deepfakes to impersonate students during ID checks by recreating videos and voices using AI.
He adds, "They essentially deploy an AI bot that applies to the college, enrolls in online classes, and then they complete just enough coursework or parts of the courses they need to avoid detection," says Vavra.
Students also have to watch out for scammers pretending to be FAFSA representatives and asking for logins or personal information. "They've contacted students over the phone pretending to be a federal aid officer, student aid officer, or someone from the college. Then start requesting personal details, personal information such as Social Security numbers, even their login details to the various portals."
This scam is not just taking financial aid from students; it could impact victims' credit scores. "Even people that aren't involved with these colleges, that didn't take out these courses, are also being essentially abused or used to gather this financial aid," Vavra said. "So they can be left with a worse credit score or with the big debt from these loans that are being taken out fraudulently," Vavra adds.
In response to the increase in fraud, the US Department of Education launched new screening for financial aid applications. Selected students will now have to show their government-issued IDs to their colleges either in person or during a video call.
To protect yourself, you should monitor your credit score regularly for any surprise loan activity. Also, use two-factor authentication to secure your accounts online, and always exercise extreme caution with your Social Security number, date of birth, and ID photos.
