According to JournalStar.com, the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles recently launched a new driver’s licensing system, which has led to 41 investigations into identity theft or fraud.

DMV director Beverly Neth says that the facial recognition system implemented when the system changed has been reviewing every picture in the DMV system every night, comparing former ID photos with ones taken since the system changed. Staff members are also now checking new pictures against old ones when new photos are being taken.

These changes have led to 41 investigations. “The technology we’ve installed is a powerful tool that can help combat fraud and identity theft in Nebraska,” Neth said.

For instance, the nightly system searching found one person who was using three different Social Security numbers, one belonging to a dead person. Another resulted in the DMV fraud unit contacting the person whose identity had been stolen, only to learn the identity thief had “racked up a $100,000 bill for unpaid taxes with the IRS,” Neth said.

According to USA TODAY, no one is safe from identity theft, not even the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Chairman Ben Bernanke’s personal checking account was compromised in an identity-theft scheme after his wife’s purse, which contained her Social Security card, checkbook, credit cards and IDs, was stolen last August. Shortly after, a thief began cashing checks on their bank account. The thefts helped fuel an ongoing investigation into a major identity theft ring.

The ring was responsible for more than $2.1 million in fraudulent charges, which involved at least 10 financial institutions. Clyde Austin Gray Jr., a suspected ringleader in the scams, pleaded guilty on July 22 in a federal court in Virginia. Authorities believe that Gray hired pick pockets then made counterfeit IDs so that they could conduct fraudulent bank transactions.

“Identity theft is a serious crime that affects millions of Americans each year,” Bernanke said in a statement. “Our family was but one of 500 separate instances traced to one crime ring. I am grateful for the law enforcement officers who patiently and diligently work to solve and prevent these financial crimes.”