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COLUMBIA -- If you’re anything like me, you take your identity for granted until your name triggers an investigation and countless hours spent preventing serious financial losses.

This past December, I became a statistic.  I learned that my personal information had been used to open a bank account, running up more than $1,500 in fraudulent charges.

“It’s probably the most rapidly growing crimes that we see,” said Steven Tapler of Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

It’s estimated that 10 million Americans become victims of identity theft each year.  Although I haven’t loss anything financially, the theft has taken its toll on me emotionally.

The first thing I wanted to do was find the person claiming to be me.

I filled out a police report and by doing so, I realized that coming face-to-face with the thief isn’t easy.

“Hopefully one of the criminals that did this made a mistake and we can catch them,” says Tapler.  “If you follow them long enough, they always make a mistake.”

I also filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, so that my case can become part of a criminal investigation.  The FTC has determined the three most common ways in which thieves look to steal consumer’s information: mail, trash, and wallets.

In order to avoid further damage, I placed a fraud alert on my credit reports.  You can do the same by contacting one of the three nationwide consumer credit agencies.

“It acts as a red flag incase people try to open a new line of credit or make major purchases in your name,” said Maria Audas of the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.

Experts recommend that you also request a free copy of your credit history each year. 

“The South Carolina Identity Theft Law allows residents to place a free security freeze on their credit report and again, that’s going to do something similar to the fraud alert,” said Audas.

It’s hard not to get overwhelmed by the number of steps it takes to recover from identity theft.

After sitting down with Audas, I felt relieved but my head was still spinning.

“If you can’t catch that somebody has hacked into your account and report it right away, then you are going to be libel for more money,” said Audas.

I have had to close several accounts, as well as order a new driver’s license.

I’m still working through my financial crisis, but I can’t forget that with easy access to information, criminals will like always find a way to it.

For now, I’ll continue to be proactive about protecting my name, because you may find that one day it belongs to someone else.