The Education Department has launched a new measure to weed out fraudulent applications for federal student aid as the administration says fraud has skyrocketed in recent years.
The new verification step in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, form will automatically screen applications and require additional identity verification steps for “high-risk” applicants — including providing government-issued identification and going through a live camera check.
After putting in place “enhanced fraud controls” in 2025, the department said it prevented $1 billion in financial aid theft that year, including attempts by “coordinated international fraud rings and AI bots pretending ...