May 11, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; A general view of the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism on the campus of the University of Southern California. The building is the proposed site for the main press center for the 2024 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco, California – California’s community college system faces a growing crisis as sophisticated AI bots, posing as students, infiltrate online courses to fraudulently collect financial aid. In 2024 alone, scammers stole more than $10 million — more than double the amount lost in 2023, according to CalMatters.
City College of San Francisco professor Robin Pugh said she had to drop 11 students this spring from her online real estate course — more than twice her usual number — after they failed to respond to messages or participate.
These so-called “ghost students” are often bots, programmed to apply, enroll, and remain active enough to avoid early detection. According to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, 0.21% of all financial aid disbursed in 2024 was fraudulent. While the office couldn’t estimate how many of those cases involved bots, it confirmed that fraud attempts are becoming harder to detect.
“Bots don’t act on their own — there’s almost always a human behind it,” a spokesperson said.
Wendy Brill-Wynkoop, president of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, said faculty began noticing the trend in 2021. Some bots now mimic real students so well they complete initial assignments to stay enrolled long enough to trigger aid disbursement.
John Hetts, the system’s executive vice chancellor for research, said the bots don’t just siphon money — they also crowd course rosters, increase faculty workload, and block access for real students.
The chancellor’s office estimates that over 31% of college applications were fraudulent in 2024. The state has implemented verification tools like ID.me and issued guidance to staff, but officials admit AI-driven fraud is evolving faster than their defenses.
Nicole Albo-Lopez, deputy chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District, said the problem once caused a dramatic demographic shift in school records in a single week. “We all kind of didn’t sleep until we figured out what was going on,” she said.
Experts like UC Berkeley cybersecurity researcher Nick Merrill warn the issue will worsen without increased investment. “There are tools that can autonomously enroll, fill out forms, and do the homework — and it doesn’t cost much,” Merrill said.
Like many educators, Pugh hopes stronger safeguards will be put in place. “I want our educational resources to be available to the people who want them — who are real people,” she said.
