Identity theft is on the rise, but ways exist to protect yourself.

It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your identity is? For a brief, terrifying period, I didn't. A Nashville, businessman, I didn't know I was the victim of identity fraud until it was too late. I had applied for a new credit card, and for the first time in my life, I was denied. Somebody called Jose Aztec had appropriated my Social Security number and had run up so many bills my credit had been damaged.

"I don't know how it happened, and that's the most frightening part of this story," I told the investigator from the security firm. "It's scary to think how often people ask me, in public, for my Social Security number.

"My first reaction was to feel violated," I continued. "And then I got really angry. "How dare this creep do this, and why did the bank let it happen?'"

I have never discovered how Aztec got my Social Security number. But the investigator said this kind of fraud happens all the time -- via both the mailbox and the email inbox.

"It's a very easy," he said. "If someone's determined to do it, he can do it. Identity theft is a lot easier to perpetrate than one would think. A lot of people feel that it's done by giving up their name or Social Security number while making an online purchase. Often it's simple things, like items you discard in the trash, credit card applications, or preapproved credit cards in the mail. People just toss them out and don't rip them up."

Security experts say the only way to prevent theft is to shred everything. Also, if you're not careful, the personal information you disclose online could come back to haunt you.

"If you're using your real name and real address, real phone numbers, Social Security number, those things are possibly available to other people to misuse," he said.

According to the Federal Trade Commission's identity theft website, more than 86,000 people were victims of identity theft in the United States last year. And thanks to a growing number of websites that put a price tag on your personal information, the problem is getting worse.

For instance, AnyBirthday.com serves up people's birth dates, OnlineDetective reveals individuals' criminal histories, and US Search.com returns names, numbers, and addresses -- personal data that could aid a would-be identity thief. Reverse phone number look-up sites are ypng.infospace.com, 411Locate, Anywho, Search, Freeality.  Access to public records can be found at Search Systems.

"Use pseudonyms, use lots of different passwords, never give the accurate information for the most part," he advised. "Lie about your gender, lie about your birth date, all of that.  Unless that information is legally necessary. Opt out of websites that offer public information on you. Many have privacy information pages where you can check a box to get your information out of their databases.  Remove your email and snail mail addresses from direct-marketing lists by going to the Direct Marketing Association's website."

Lasting, check your credit with one of the major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian (formerly TRW), and TransUnion -- regularly. 

Last updated: August 7, 2009

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