That's right, every place you go and use a credit card, sign a legal document, use your cell phone, or buy merchandise on line you have become a potential victim of identity theft. Every time you share personal information about yourself a skilled identity thief may have access to commit fraud against you. This is a sad but true condition of our society these days.

Over the past five or six years this problem has increased to the point that 500,000 to 700,000 people become ensnared in this type of fraud every year. Statistics show one in ten has been or will become victims of this crime spree.

How does it happen? Well, some of the most common techniques are dumpster diving: Rummaging through the trash. Skimming: This means getting a credit card number and using a device that holds and stores the number when your card is processed. Phishing: This is a fake company trying to get you to give them personal information about yourself like credit card numbers or Social Security numbers. Change of address: Your financial information is diverted to a bogus address by someone putting in a change of address card for you. Plain and simple theft: Your wallet or purse is stolen, mail is stolen to get your banking records and bill statements, personnel records are stolen and the list goes on and on.

Identity theft doesn't stop at home; Thieves prey on businesses and customer documents as well. Businesses throw out a lot of papers each day, many of which have vital information on them. The best form of defense for your business and customer privacy is to avoid throwing away any documents before being shredded. This can be done professionally at your business or securely taken away to a shredding center.

There are steps you can take to protect yourself. First, get yourself a shredder or hire a professional shredding company to shred all financial documents prior to tossing them out. Then, remember; "Do not carry your Social Security card with you and don't give out that number unless absolutely required. Be sure to use security measures on your computer and don't open mail if you don't recognize the sender. Keep passwords as unfamiliar as possible. In other words don't use birthdates and last digits of a Social Security card. Use common sense. Don't keep important paperwork in easily accessible places if you live with roommates, have employees, or are having strangers who do work around your home.

Take the steps to fight back against this crime. Check your credit scores often and report suspicious information you find. Watch your statements for unfamiliar purchases or denial of credit for some reason you don't recollect. You can also place a "Fraud Alert" on all credit accounts telling the creditors to watch for certain things before opening new accounts in your name. File police reports and report fraud and theft to the Federal Trade Commission. Check out some of the Identity Theft Protection Programs available as well.

It is important to remember the best way to defend against identity theft is to look after yourself, because no one else is. In fighting this never ending battle make sure that you are the "first line" of defense.