With the Internet becoming such a prominent part of everyone's lives, buying items online and paying bills from the comfort of your home has become commonplace.

Add to that flood of personal information available over the net the hundred of thousands of unemployed workers nationwide who are filling out and sending resumes via the web. It is a target-rich environment for thieves who want to steal your information and empty your bank accounts.

"Identity theft crimes have increased by more than twenty percent across the nation in the last year," said Mike Prusinski, a spokesman for LifeLock who helps consumers protect their information. "We see these types of crimes more prevalent in high population urban centers such as cities in Texas and California and in states where there is a high number of elderly residents such as Arizona and Florida. But everyone is at risk."

Not all cases dealing with identity theft occur over the Internet or to the elderly. A Lauderdale County Emergency 911 dispatcher was recently arrested for obtaining personal information while on duty and using that data to apply and receive a credit card. But that is the exception rather than the norm according to Prusinski.

"At some point during the day you are giving out the type of information somebody with some computer savvy can take advantage of," said Prusinski.

Even the sheriff of Lauderdale County has had to deal in recent years with stolen account numbers and credit cards.

"It is as true for everyone as it was for us," said Sheriff Billy Sollie. "You have to protect your information as best as you can. If it is stolen and being used, you have to take steps to ensure the losses are minimal."

If a credit or debit card is stolen Sollie said contacting the bank or the card holder should be the first step. Many businesses have mechanisms in place to protect the consumer but realistically it should be the consumer who manages and polices their own accounts.

"Thieves don't have to always physically steal your cards," said Sollie. "Sometimes all they need to do is look over your shoulder whenever you are paying for something. Cell phones today even have cameras built into them so if you aren't watchful, they could take a picture of your card with your account number on it."

According to Prusinski, much of what LifeLock does, you can do yourself for free.

"The difference is that the only thing we think about is how to protect your Identity," said Prusinski. "Think of it this way, all of us can change our own oil, but most of us have it done by specialists. We'd like to think that what we do is more complicated than changing oil, but you get the idea."

LifeLock representatives ask the credit bureaus to set free fraud alerts on your behalf. Usually, this is done through automated systems and the alerts are set within an hour.

Every 90 days LifeLock asks the credit bureaus to do it again. Consumers can do this for free but LifeLock makes sure it gets done and that it gets done right. That's where the oil change analogy kicks in.

Lifelock requests your name be removed from lists of pre-approved offers for credit cards and/or insurance. Several sources cite these type of pre-approved offers as one of the many ways identities can be stolen.

"Nine to ten million people will become victims of identity theft this year," Pursinski claimed. "Everybody believes it won't happen to them. If you aren't really careful and diligent, it's not a matter of if, but when."