In a disturbing development straight out of a science fiction nightmare, British universities are now grappling with a new frontier of fraud – deepfake university applicants. As institutions increasingly rely on automated online interviews and questionnaires to vet prospective international students, cunning imposters are weaponizing cutting-edge artificial intelligence to deceive these systems, according to alarming new findings from Enroly, a software platform used by many universities to streamline admissions.
While the numbers are still small – only about 30 cases out of 20,000 January intake interviews – experts warn this is just the beginning of an arms race between fraudsters and universities in the high-stakes world of international student recruitment. The implications are chilling: AI-generated faces seamlessly layered over real ones, complete with lifelike expressions and movements. Faked fluency and accents masking a lack of language skills. Impressive, if illusory, academic prowess.
The Stuff of Admissions Officers’ Nightmares
For university staff tasked with screening a flood of international applicants, the rise of deepfakes is “the stuff of nightmares,” said Phoebe O’Donnell, Enroly’s head of services, who first sounded the alarm in a blog post. “It’s like something out of a spy film. And yes, they’re incredibly hard to detect.”
While deepfakes currently make up just a tiny fraction of the deception uncovered by Enroly – accounting for a mere 0.15% compared to more low-tech methods like impersonation (1.3%) – O’Donnell stressed this is “a small but growing trend, and we’re determined to stay ahead of it.”
A High-Stakes Numbers Game
For UK universities, the threat of deepfakes is far more than just an admissions headache – it’s an existential numbers game. Under Home Office rules, institutions risk losing their licence to sponsor international students if visa refusal rates exceed 10% in a year. With over 600,000 international students currently in the UK, representing billions in revenue, even a small uptick in fraud can have catastrophic consequences.
Fighting Fraud with AI and “Clever Tricks”
To combat the specter of deepfakes, Enroly has turned to an arsenal of AI-powered weapons and “a few clever tricks up our sleeves,” O’Donnell said cryptically, including real-time facial recognition, voice analysis, and passport matching. “Thanks to real-time tech…we’ve already stopped several attempts. But hard isn’t impossible.”
The automated interviews, which allow applicants to record answers to randomly selected questions for later review by admissions staff, are a critical first line of defense – flagging suspicious submissions for further scrutiny while radically reducing screening time. But as deepfakes grow more sophisticated, the arms race will only intensify.
Staying One Step Ahead
For now, Enroly and its university partners are confident they can stay ahead of the deepfakers through vigilance and innovation. But as the technology advances at a breakneck pace, O’Donnell acknowledged the road ahead will be challenging.
“We’re in uncharted territory here. But one thing is certain – this is the future of fraud in international admissions and it’s only going to get harder to detect. Universities will need to be incredibly proactive, constantly innovating and collaborating, to protect the integrity of their admissions decisions and the welfare of genuine students.”
– Phoebe O’Donnell, Head of Services, Enroly
As the gatekeepers of higher education grapple with this brave new world of deception, one thing is clear: in the age of AI, the price of admissions integrity is eternal vigilance. For universities and applicants alike, the stakes could not be higher.
