Ever since someone stole her identity, Nancy Hook watches her finances like a hawk.

In addition to doing frequent national credit checks, she shreds all documents and reviews her credit card bills and bank statements closely. "And nobody is going to get anything from me over the phone," Hook said.

During the early 1990s, Hook received several telephone messages from a credit card management firm. Initially, she ignored them. The caller persisted.

"I thought they were just advertising," she said. "He finally got a hold of me and said, 'I believe someone has taken your identity.'"

Hook's name and Social Security number had been sold into a criminal ring in Chicago, a ring that got its start in the Texas prison system. Someone in Chicago was applying for credit cards in her name. To this day, Hook doesn't know how they got her information.

The employee of the management firm gave Hook a list of the criminal activity, and she set out to stop the fraud. "I had to track myself down," she said.

Consumer Credit Counseling in Rapid City advised her to contact three different national companies that hold credit card accounts. Warnings were placed on her accounts.

She also went to her Rapid City bank and obtained a password and placed more guards on her account.

Luckily, she caught the fraud in its infant stage.

"I spent many, many hours on the phone on this, but I was not out anything," she said.

Hook was luckier than a lot of people, said Terry Mills at Consumer Credit Counseling.

"It's the fastest-growing crime in America," he said, with 8 million Americans reporting identity fraud each year. It's the No. 1 complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, costing about $49.3 billion a year.

Identity theft occurs when a criminal gets a legitimate name and Social Security number. They use the information to get credit cards, purchase items and empty bank accounts. Credit ratings are destroyed and people's financial lives are often left in disarray.

Thieves get the information in various ways. They dig through trash cans, looking for bank statements or credit card bills. They steal credit cards outright or obtain credit card numbers. Thieves use phishing, luring Internet users to fake Web pages where they ask for personal information such as passwords and financial information.

The notorious Nigerian scam involves a convoluted e-mail asking for banking information in order to transfer large sums of money. Two million Americans fell for it last year. That particular scam is the second largest income generator for Nigeria after oil.

So far, South Dakota doesn't have a huge identity theft problem, Mills said. In 2006, South Dakota had one of the lowest rates of identity theft in the nation, along with North Dakota and Vermont.

"People are more careful about who they give information to," Mills said. "We're more guarded about our information."

Mills suspects South Dakotans also do a lot more face-to-face business, visiting banks in person, getting to know the people who work there.

But Mills expects to see more identity theft in the coming years as the scams move inward from the coasts. He recommends a few pointers for avoiding identity theft.

The first step: Go to www.annualcreditreport.com. The site is a centralized location where consumers can request free credit reports, created by the nation's three consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Since one report a year is free, Mills suggests spreading the three out over a year. Check one, then wait two or three months before checking the others.

Consumers should look for anything that isn't accurate or any activity that's suspicious. An estimated 60 percent of the records are inaccurate, Mills said

Other steps for keeping identity safe include carefully looking at credit card bills each month. Carry only the card needed for the day. Never give information to people on the phone or online. Don't carry your Social Security number and be careful about giving it to people.

Hook has changed the way she does her private business since her identity theft, which continues to cause problems.

Not long ago, she noticed a debit coming out of her bank account each month. She contacted the bank and then tracked down the company. Someone or the company itself had gotten her information and was charging her monthly fees for a service she wasn't getting.

She put a stop to it and asked for even more guards on her credit cards and bank accounts. For instance, her credit card record shows that an ID must always be provided. If she travels out of the state, she must call her company to OK out-of-state activity.

"I was sold into a ring and so I just have to make sure I have enough blocks out there," she said.

The entire experience has left her much more savvy and guarded about her finances. She just hopes others will take note of her experience so they don't have to go through the same thing.

What to do if your identity has been stolen

y Call the Fraud Department at Experian (1-888-397-3742), Trans Union (1-800-680-7289) and Equifax (1-800-525-6285) credit bureaus and ask to have a fraud alert attached to your file.

y Contact all of your creditors with phone calls and letters to alert them. This includes telephone companies, utility companies, etc.

y Alert your bank.

y File a report with local police. Get a copy of the police report. Having a copy will help when dealing with creditors.

y If you believe someone is using your Social Security number, report it to the Social Security Agency's Fraud Hotline at 1-800-269-0271.

Tips for keeping yourself safe from identity theft

y Guard your Social Security number.

y Monitor your credit on a regular basis. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and obtain a free credit history from the three national consumer credit reporting agencies. Spread the reports out over a year's time; get one, then wait a few months before getting the next. Each company will provide more than one report each year, but only the first is free.

y Shred documents with banking or financial information on them.

y Never have blank checks sent to your home. Pick them up at the bank or have them sent to a secure post office box.

y Take your name off mailing lists.

y Only carry what you need in your wallet. Don't carry extra credit cards and never carry your Social Security card.

y Monitor your Social Security activity once a year. Get a free annual report at www.ssa.gov.

y Be cautious with phone and Internet applications. Never give financial information to online requests. A legitimate financial institution will never request such information via e-mail.

y Mail bills in secure mail boxes, rather than your home box.

y Photocopy both sides of credit cards and keep them in a safe place.

y Report stolen or lost cards immediately.

Contact Lynn Taylor Rick at 394-8414 or lynn.taylorrick@rapidcityjournal.com.