"Can you imagine what would happen if someone stole your identity, got arrested and gave out your social security number in a small town like Williston?" asked Judy Austad last week at a workshop about the importance of protecting personal information. "It could be devastating to someone's reputation."

And since she works in the Consumer Protection of North Dakota Attorney General's Office, she knows the dangers of identity theft very well.

"It takes most victims three to four months to realize that their identity has been stolen," she said.

Austad receives six to eight calls a week from victims of identity theft, and said that they are trying to stress education so that people know how to protect themselves.

She said that thieves often steal wallets and purses containing identification and bank cards, get information from discarded receipts, steal mail from mailboxes, complete a 'change of address form' to divert your mail to another location, illegally obtain personal credit reports or even dig through garbage in order to get what they want. "There are a number of ways that people can use information, and it always amazes me when I get a call from someone," she said. "Every case is so different."

Here are some facts about identity theft:

After stealing your information, thieves can:

Go on spending sprees using credit or debit card account numbers.

Open new credit card accounts using the victim's information.

Buy cars etc. taking out loans in the victim's name.

Gain tax free employment.

Obtain a duplicate driver's license.

Use victim's reputation without suffering damage to their own.

A few tips to keep in mind:

Before revealing personal information, find out how it will be used.

Do not give out your social security number unless it is required (remove from check blanks).

Pay attention to billing cycles.

Remove your name from marketing lists.

Obtain opt-out information.

To opt out of a credit card application by telephone, call 888-567-8688.

One more thing that Austad said can help is a "security freeze" to protect personal information, which locks access to your credit file.

"People ask why this is beneficial, if an identity theft is going to occur and someone has your social security number and tries to get into your credit report, they'll drop your file for someone else's account which doesn't have a security freeze on it," said Austad.

If your credit files are frozen, even someone who has stolen your name and social security number would probably not be able to get credit in your name. It can be placed on your credit report by mail, by phone, or over the internet. In order to get full protection, you must set this up through each of the three consumer reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This service is free of charge for anyone who has been a victim of identity theft, and otherwise will cost $5 for each consumer reporting agency ($15 in total).