All the studies confirm what I already knew from more than 20 years as an Indiana bankruptcy attorney: identity theft is the fastest growing crime in our country. The legal definition of identity theft is "the use of another person's information in ways involving fraud and deception." This crime doesn't necessarily mean stealing a credit card or other ID and using that to open a telephone account or buy clothing, furniture, gadgets, or—even worse—drugs. The Executive Office for U.S. Trustees in Washington D.C. reports cases where people bought real estate using stolen identities or transferred part ownership in property to another person in order to avoid foreclosure—the different permutations of theft seem endless. In my work I've come across cases where one person obtained a professional license using someone else's identity, and even cases where one person filed bankruptcy in the name of the identity theft victim.

Clearly, we all need to be more vigilant about our information and be cautious about giving out our Social Security number and carrying around credit cards. Every one of us needs to periodically check his or her credit report. Is all that time-consuming? Of course! But people whose identities have been stolen can spend months or even years, not to mention thousands of dollars, cleaning up the mess thieves made of their good name and their credit. Identity theft can mean losing job opportunities, being refused loans for education, a house or a car, and even getting arrested for crimes you didn't commit.

To help consumers protect themselves, the Federal Trade Commission has produced a booklet I want to tell you about called Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft. The book talks about the dozens of ways identity thieves operate. They may steal your mail, rummage through your trash to find papers with account numbers, pose as a landlord or employer, steal your wallet or purse, complete a change of address form to reroute your mail to themselves or "phish" online by posing as a financial institution and saying you have a problem with your account. Co-workers can be thieves, stealing records or hacking into the company's computer system. A thief may simply look over your shoulder when you're at the ATM or when you're at Starbucks with your laptop, ordering some goods online using your credit card. A waiter in a restaurant, a sales clerk—thieves might be anywhere.

The FTC book outlines four steps to take just as soon as you realize you've lost a piece of ID or that it's been stolen, or when you realize someone's been carrying out transactions you haven't authorized, using your credit. 1) Call police or the Indiana Attorney General's office. 2) File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. 3) Close the accounts you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. 4) Place a fraud alert with the credit bureaus. (You need to call just one of them; that credit bureau is obligated to notify the other two.)

Additional steps you can take include alerting the Post Office if you suspect a thief has filed a change of address form, and alerting your utility and phone companies and the Social Security office.

There are a couple of silver linings amidst all these crime "clouds." First, federal law says you're liable for only the first $50 of loss with each financial institution, provided you notify them within two days of finding out there's a problem. As a victim of identity theft, you're entitled to one extra free credit report. If collection companies start harassing you, you can honestly tell them they're violating the law.

When I was deciding on a topic for this article, I was afraid that the facts about the growing problems we've having with identity theft would be too worrisome. But with the holiday shopping season coming up, I felt this is too important a topic for me not to share the information with you. I remember an old saying that goes like this: "We cannot BEWARE of something unless we're AWARE of it." Hopefully, identity theft won't happen to you or to anyone you know this holiday season or at any time. Meanwhile, think about investing in a paper shredder, and let's all be more aware.

Mark Zuckerberg, one of only 15 Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Specialists in the State of Indiana, has been counseling clients on financial management and debt management for almost 25 years and has bankruptcy law offices in Indianapolis, Columbus, Bloomington and Anderson. The opinions in this column are not to be construed as advice in specific situations and do not necessarily reflect the views of Indy's Child. Questions and comments may be addressed to Mark Zuckerberg, c/o Indy's Child. Mark may be contacted directly at 317-687-0000. Link to the FTC website: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt04.shtm.