?An identity thief could steal your personal information and use it to take out a home-equity loan in your name,? said Howard Gold with National Homestead. ?You might try to sell your house and know nothing until a few days before the closing when the buyer's lender or the title company uncovers the outstanding loan on your home. It's too late to fix the problem and keep the sale on track. Besides clearing your name, you have to deal with the mess of a delayed closing and a frustrated buyer at the worst possible time. Your sale could fall through.?

Title problems are found in about 36 percent of today's residential sales transactions, according to a survey by the American Land Title Association. That's up from 25 percent in year 2000. The association doesn't track how many of these are caused by identity theft. The bottom line: Take all precautions possible to prevent theft of your personal information.