It's every person's worst nightmare. You're simply going about your daily routine, living your life and minding your own business, when you receive a phone call from a bill collector. He says you owe thousands of dollars on a credit card you didn't even know you had. Or maybe you apply for a loan and are shocked to discover that you're turned down because, even though you pay each of your bills on time, you have a low credit score. Perhaps you go online to check your savings account balance and find that you've been cleaned out. In other words, while you've been engaged in the business of living, you've become a victim of identity theft. If you think that these are far-fetched scenarios, think again. Thirteen people have their identities stolen every single minute. Here, then, are answers to common questions about identity theft.

1. Am I safe as long as I don't give out my personal information over the phone or online?

Not at all. Take a minute to think about the people, organizations, and companies that have your personal information. Banks, other financial institutions and professionals, medical professionals, hospitals, schools, and retail merchants all store your personal information electronically. In other words, you really don't control access to your information. If an identity thief breaches a bank's, school's, or insurance company's security system, they will have access to vital information. Over the past several years, millions of credit card numbers, bank account information, social security numbers, and employee records have been stolen from trusted institutions.

2. Can I prevent identity theft?

No, you really can't prevent identity theft. Your personal information is in the hands of too many institutions and organizations; it's like trying to close the barn door after the horse gets out. There are steps you can take that will prevent some avenues of identity theft (such as shredding papers with personal information that you'd normally throw out), but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

3. Isn't credit fraud the most prevalent kind of identity theft?

Contrary to popular belief, only about a third of identity thefts relate to credit fraud. Even if you are impeccable about credit monitoring, it won't defend against someone using your personal information for things like medical expenses, checking accounts, driver's licenses, tax fraud, passports, and social security benefits.

4. What's the best way to get true identity protection?

The best way to get true identity protection is through a service that uses a multi-pronged approach. This involves credit monitoring that looks for signs of potential fraud and identity monitoring that screens public records and national databases for identity thieves that are using your name and social security number. In addition, the service should have extensive expertise in full identity recovery, including coordination with law enforcement agencies, should you become the victim of identity theft. It should also provide you with expense reimbursement insurance that covers all of the members of your family. The service you choose should also supply you with your personalized identity risk score that rates your chances of becoming a victim of identity theft. Only then will you be able to have the peace of mind knowing that you have done everything you can to defend yourself against identity theft.