Money doesn't actually talk. We do.

Introducing: Ivy League Identity Thieves!

There’s a new motive for identity theives – getting into an elite university.

Whether it’s supporting a meth addiction, a shopping spree or just trying to pull a weekend at Bernie’s, identity theft is usually a tip of the criminal iceberg.

And thanks to 29-year-old Esther Elizabeth Reed, cops are unearthing an Ivy-League identity scandal. CBS reports that cops arrested Reed in suburban Chicago for committing ID theft to gain admission to Columbia, Harvard and California State at Fullerton to study – get this - criminology and psychology.

Reed racked up over $100,000 in loans using various sophisticated identity schemes, according to MSNBC. While studying as a graduate student at Columbia for two years, she masqueraded under the name Brooke Henson. But according to CBS, the real Brooke Henson is from South Carolina and has been missing since 1999 (cops don’t think that Reed had anything to do with Henson’s disappearance).

Officials aren’t sure yet how Reed got her hands on Hanson’s social-security number and other pertinent information. But Reed used Hanson’s identity to obtain an Ohio identification card, and then took a high school equivalency test and the SAT. Her score eventually landed her at Columbia University, reports MSNBC.

Another alias that Reed used was Jennifer Myers, primarily as an account name for instant messaging. A tipster who had IM’d with her eventually brought her down, according to MSNBC.

The moral of the story? Identity thieves are just becoming more and more clever. Protect yourself buy checking your credit report regularly and considering a credit freeze. And be especially suspect if you suddenly discover that you’ve received an Ivy League masters degree without ever having set foot on campus.

-Mary Pilon

Illustration credit