The growing crime of identity theft has reached the United States Department of Education Federal student aid programs. The Department disburses over $60 billion in Federal student aid funds every year in response to over 11 million applications. According to investigations by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), more than $1 million in court ordered restitutions were ordered within the past year and a half to recover stolen Federal student aid monies. Identity thieves employ various methods, including the use of the personal information of deceased individuals, friends, and family members. Descriptions of two identity theft cases are offered; in 1 case, the perpetrator defrauded the Department of Education of over $160,000 by submitting fraudulent applications using his mother’s and brother’s names, and in the other case, the perpetrator had assumed over 50 identities in order to collect over $313,000 in Federal student aid. These crimes spurred the Secretary of Education and the Inspector General to launch an identity theft prevention program to bring awareness of the problem to students. Additionally, the OIG is using data mining techniques and is coordinating efforts with other law enforcement agencies to catch potential problems.