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As it turned out, our thief had been on her crime spree for six straight months. But since we caught things early enough, we were able to rectify the situation before it got out of hand.

Ben and Sarah Fuller (their names have been changed for their protection) were not so fortunate. By the time they realized they had been victimized, they were looking at over $8,000 in fraudulent credit card charges.

The Fullers became aware of the identity theft when Ben applied for a management job at the firm he worked for. Ben, who had been a successful branch manager, was turned down for a senior management position when his credit report came back riddled with delinquent accounts.

"I lost out on a great promotion, which really hurt my career," Ben told me. "I knew something was wrong when I was passed over in favor of someone with less experience. When my boss told me about my credit report, I was floored. I had worked hard to maintain a good credit record. This was a shock."

"I remember doing a lot of crying," recalls Sarah. "The collection agents were calling almost daily. It was a nightmare. Every time we thought we had gotten a handle on things, another bill would pop up out of nowhere. I thought maybe we would be held responsible for all of the debt. The only thing we could do was keep praying."

In the Fullers' case, the identity thief moved every few months, evading the authorities while continuing to use Ben's identity. It took more than two years for the Fullers to finally clear their name and credit record.

Identity theft is rapidly increasing in the United States. Since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Data Clearing House began collecting identity theft reports in 2000, the number of reports has increased over 420 percent. In 2003, the ftc received more than a half a million compaints, and identity-theft reports topped the list.

Many law enforcement officials believe that due to the clandestine nature of this crime, most people are at risk of becoming a victim without even knowing it. That was my situation. The perpetrator who stole my identity did it in such a way that I could not have protected myself. There are, however, some precautions you can take to minimize your chances of becoming a target.

1) Guard your digits. Never give out your Social Security number (SSN) unless it's absolutely necessary—like on a job or credit application. Many institutions request your SSN for identification purposes. But it's often not required. Refuse to give it out and offer other kinds of identifiers instead. In addition, be equally careful about giving out your credit card and driver's license numbers.

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