Maybe it's the North Dakotan sense of trust. Or maybe it's just that crooks see the north as an untapped resource.

Whatever it is, North Dakotans have seen their fair share of increases in identity theft in the past year, according to a recent survey by ID Analytics, based in California. In fact, the top two "hot spots" in the United States for identity theft were counties in North Dakota.

"I think part of it is our citizens are rather trusting, and many people think that identity theft is a problem you see in New York or California,"said North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.

No. 6 in the top 10 cities with the fastest increases in identity theft was Bismarck. Grand Forks and Fargo hovered at nine and 10, respectively. Cities in Montana dominated the rest of the list, but Springfield, Ill. was No. 1 on the list.

"Iwas surprised,"said Stenehjem about the reports. "We all knew that identity theft is the fastest growing white collar crime in the United States. Now we know that it is (growing) at alarming proportions here in North Dakota, which means we need to redouble our efforts to tell everybody."

According to Bismarck police reports, 24 incidents of identity theft were reported in 2005; in 2006, 45 were reported. So far this year, 16 have been reported.

They're difficult to investigate and to pursue, said Lt. Dan Donlin with the Bismarck Police Department. Normally, thieves are out of state or even out of the country.

And there's no requirement that people report identity theft to the police or to the aAttorney general's office, said Stenehjem.

"We suspect that there's many more than that,"he said, adding that many people may only report the theft to their credit cards or banks.

How do these thefts happen?

Donlin said most identity thieves get a hold of people's bank accounts or credit cards, then begin ordering things, opening new lines of credits or, more recently opening a cell phone account.

"Many of them, where accounts are being initiated, use your name, personal information, but then a whole different address,"Donlin said. "Sometimes, a person isn't even aware of this until months down the road."

Credit card information can be acquired several ways, from a thief setting up false account messages to trick victims into giving out personal information, or "phishing," to someone simply digging through the trash to find old credit card bills.

Phishing has become more prevalent, but identities also are still being stolen through computer spyware, basic telemarketing schemes or even by stealing mail that's been left in the mailbox.

Stenehjem and Donlin both say that theft prevention is much easier than fixing the mess made after your identity is stolen:

3 Don't give out personal information, ever.

3 Invest in a shredder. "Remember there are people who engage in dumpster diving, where they go through trash cans to find old phone bills banking statements, credit card statements, Stenehjem said."

3 Get a copy of your credit reports. Citizens have the right to get a copy from each of the three major crediting agencies once a year. Stenehjem suggested visiting http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

North Dakotans now also have the option of putting a "security freeze" on their credit files, which stops potential creditors from viewing credit files. The freeze only can be removed with a secure password or pin, said Stenehjem, which prevents anyone other than the holder of the pin from applying for credit.

"What it does is allow a person to prohibit a credit reporting agency from giving your credit history out to anybody. What happens with identity thieves is the first thing they try to do is open a credit card, a bank account. (Opening)a cell account is increasing,"Stenehjem said. "If they're prohibited from giving that information out to a creditor, they won't open an account."

If an identity is stolen, Stenehjem suggests reporting it to the police and the attorney general's office, as well as all appropriate financial institutions. In fact, Stenehjem's office has an identity theft kit to help a victim through the process.

But truly, prevention is best.

"It is much easier to prevent someone from becoming a victim of identity theft than it is to undo it,"Stenehjem said. "We simply need to be more skeptical."

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)