Trump admin tightens vise on student aid fraud in ‘ghost student’ crackdown

The Trump administration launched a real-time fraud detection tool for the FAFSA to combat 'ghost student' scams, flagging high-risk applicants and requiring ID verification. The tool aims to save $1 billion by preventing fraudulent aid disbursements, with 50,000 applications screened in its first day. The effort follows pandemic-era relaxed verification rules under the Biden administration and is led by Vice President JD Vance as fraud czar.