LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials have detected more than 65,000 fake financial aid applications to California community colleges in what is believed to be a massive attempted financial aid scam.

The Los Angeles Times reports Thursday that the fraudulent applications were filed at most of the system’s 116 campuses on behalf of older, first-time applicants earning less than $40,000.

Meanwhile, faculty members noticed unusual surges in class enrollment they suspected were driven by fake students or bots.

An official says he believes the problem was detected before significant amounts of aid were distributed to scammers.

The colleges have announced stricter security measures including the required monthly reporting of suspected and confirmed incidents of registration and financial aid fraud.