You ll need a series of contact files, actual conversations and written messages, discussions at the agency, dates, and witnesses, if there are any. Original copies of all documentations should be included in your files. Send out to any office or person concerned photocopies only. A summary of what happened should be included in the report. Identity thefts is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country and what can be really frustrating about this is that you cannot really know how fast it is growing. Not only are identity theft cases hard to solve, they are also hard to detect. There are identity crimes that are not solved until after a decade because of the lack of information. Use password wisely - those not easily identified by making it remotely related to you. 3. Be wary of strangers in the house by limiting their access to private information you are keeping. 4. Know the people handling your records in the office/workplace. Make sure to verify how they dispose private information and rule out carelessness in exchanging or disclosing them to other people. Just think-if your wallet was stolen or you have for one reason or another, been physically separated from items that contain sensitive information like your social security number, credit card information, driver's license number, etc-- it is easy to prevent identity theft because you can cancel all your cards and report them stolen to prevent anyone misusing your personal information for their gain. While the victim and his wife spent more than four years and more than $15,000 of their own money to restore their credit and reputation, the criminal served a brief sentence for making a false statement to procure a firearm, but made no restitution to his victim for any of the harm he had caused. How do thieves get my information? Remember that other than government agencies, no one else should be given your sensitive numbers although some may ask for it. For instance, banks and other financial institutions may need your social security number to check on your credentials. This is not completely secure but some institutions will offer identity theft protection for a fee and perhaps it's better to do business with financial institutions like these for proper risk management.