Last year there were ten million victims of identity theft in the U.S. and this year, one in four people will become targets of this fast growing crime.

That was the message members of the Northwest Senior Activity Center learned last Thursday during an information session on identity theft led by Becky Pugliese, an independent associate with Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

Only one in 700 identity thieves get caught. In 2004 five billion dollars was lost to identity theft in this country.

"It's becoming the crime of the century. Criminals see it as low risk and high profit," said Pugliese.

Thieves use a variety of methods to obtain personal information to steal people's money.

One common scam is called "phishing," where the thief calls or e-mails a potential victim. An e-mail can pretend to represent an online company like eBay, complete with the well-known logo.

Callers or e-mailers will make a story on why they need your personal information. The best advice is not to cooperate. It's a way to obtain information under the guise of a legitimate request. The thief would ask for personal information like Social Security and credit card numbers.

Others resort to what is called dumpster diving, going through people's garbage or paper recycling looking for bank statements, credit card receipts and anything with personal information.

Thieves use the information to open up credit card and other accounts to make purchases. In the end, the victims are held accountable because their identity was used for the crime.

Pugliese described a new form of eavesdropping she called surfing. A thief may wait in line at an ATM machine and look for careless users who do not hide the pin numbers as they push buttons. Now thieves are using cell phones that have cameras in them to record pin numbers.

There have been cases in Seattle where ATM machines are tampered with. The slots where ATM cards are inserted are altered to "eat" the card. After the victim leaves the scene, thieves retrieve the cards and they have found a way to get the pin numbers.

When purses or wallets are stolen, credit cards are not the only prize for identity thieves. Some have been known to use a driver's license to create a new identity in someone else's name.

Pugliese says there have been situations where an unsuspecting victim is pulled over for a traffic violation. The police officer runs their name through his or her computer and warrants may be outstanding in the victim's name.

Thieve also look for people who put their outgoing mail sticking out of their mailboxes for the postal employee to pick up.

"It's a signal. Please rob my identification," said Pugliese.

Stolen checks can be altered with new names added and the amounts changed.

Thieves have even used postal service change of address forms to divert people's mail to access the information they need to steal money.

Among Pugliese's recommendations is for people not to carry their Social Security cards on them. If you have more credit cards than you can use, cancel some of them.

People getting Social Security statements in the mail should check to ensure no one is drawing funds from their account.

"ID theft is more than a story, it's an epidemic. It can happen to anyone under any circumstances," said Pugliese.

The best advice Pugliese says is to buy a paper shredder, preferably one that cross cuts paper into tiny pieces.

For more information on identity theft, log onto the Federal Trade Commission's website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.