White Paper: The Long-Term Effects of Application Fraud

Scammers posing as fake students are inundating colleges across the U.S. with fraudulent applications. Using stolen or fabricated identities, these “ghost students” successfully enroll, only to disappear—tying up course seats, stealing financial aid funds, and securing official college-issued email addresses.

Fraud on this scale erodes public trust, damages the reputation of educational institutions, and deprives legitimate students of the resources they need to succeed.

This report will examine the long-term effects of application fraud, explore the increasingly sophisticated nature of fraudsters’ tactics, and share actionable strategies for keeping ghost students out of higher education.