"Identity theft impacts millions of people and costs billions of dollars a year," says Debbie Kossuth, a vice president and director of fraud prevention at Fifth Third Bank. As with many crimes, it's not always possible to avoid becoming a victim. However, you can reduce your risk by increasing your awareness and taking certain precautionary measures.

What is identity theft and how does it occur?
Identity theft is a crime of fraud that occurs when someone uses another person's information to assume their identity or control their accounts. This information can be numbers from checking and savings accounts; credit, debit and social security cards; tax information; or even a person's name, address and telephone number.

"Once thieves have a few key pieces of information, they can start assuming your identity or making changes to your accounts," explains Kossuth. "Their scams are nearly endless." For example, they can open credit cards or bank accounts in your name, change the mailing address on your accounts, authorize electronic transfers, take out loans or even get a driver's license with their photo and your name.

How do thieves obtain this information?
According to Kossuth, some common ways thieves obtain this information are by stealing wallets or purses, or stealing mail from people's mailboxes. Another approach is "dumpster diving," in which they search through trash to obtain information on discarded receipts or statements. When "shoulder surfing," they try to obtain account and personal identification numbers (PINs) by watching what others key into computers or ATMs. In scams referred to as "phishing," they try to solicit confidential information over the phone or online. (To learn more about phishing, read Debbie Wheeler's article).

How can you protect yourself?
According to Kossuth, not all identity thieves are strangers. "In many cases, they're a family member, neighbor, friend or a bad employee in an otherwise reputable business," she says. Consequently, she recommends getting into the habit of keeping all your personal information and account numbers in a safe place, carefully reviewing all your financial statements regularly and shredding them before throwing them out.

In addition, she recommends carrying only essential IDs and credit and debit cards - and never carrying PINs with you. She also urges you to empty your mailbox as soon as possible to prevent thieves from stealing statements. Another option is to eliminate this risk by paying bills online and using direct deposit.

She also urges you to review your credit report at least annually and watch for any activities you didn't authorize, such as the appearance of a new credit card or a change of address. "If you see something you didn't request, be sure to question it," she says. She also reminds you to keep your computers secure and not divulge confidential information to people contacting you.

What should you do if you've been a victim?
If you find yourself a victim of identity theft, Kossuth says you should first contact your financial institutions and creditors. Tell them what's happened and ask them to close your existing accounts. You can then open new ones. She also recommends you formally file a report with law enforcement authorities as well as the three credit reporting companies, Equivax, Experian and TransUnion. These companies can place a fraud alert on your credit report. For their contact information and additional advice, she recommends you visit the Federal Trade Commission website by clicking here.

For more information, you may contact Fifth Third Bank at (866) 475-4201, or click here to log on to the Fraud Awareness Website from Fifth Third Bank.