The Department of Education said it has prevented more than $1 billion in federal student aid-related fraud so far this year, including schemes in which scammers posed as students to steal money from the taxpayer-funded program.
The department said on Dec. 11 that this was achieved by strengthening oversight of how colleges and universities verify identities and distribute student aid dollars. These measures include mandatory identity verification for certain first-time student applicants enrolling in the summer term, as well as a permanent screening process for all applicants beginning this fall.
Under current rules, students filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form must present an unexpired, government-issued photo ID—either in person or over a live video conference—to a school official authorized to verify identity. The schools must keep a record of the ID review….