How can someone steal your identity? Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes.

Dan Casavant of Waterville has had his identity stolen twice in the past 6 years, both as a result of taking e-mails for face value. Casavant, a regular to eBay since March 1998, was first introduced to the eBay community by his sister, who is an antiques dealer, formerly of Fairfield, now Florida.

He immediately fell in love with the relative ease at which he could find what he wanted without even leaving the comfort of his home.

He opened an e-mail one morning to find that he was being asked by eBay to “update” his personal information including his password and credit card information. Within a matter of hours, someone had stolen his identity and his perfect feedback rating, and they were trading using his reputation and money.

Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend considerable time and their hard-earned money cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, education, housing or cars, and even get arrested for crimes they didn’t commit.

Thieves can mimic large companies such as eBay, sending out official looking e-mails and causing real problems for people, sometimes with little consequence to the perpetrators. Casavant worked for days with the eBay network to rectify the problem and regain the reputation that had taken him years to shape, and just minutes for this thief to steal. Upon investigation, the thief was identified as a user from Spain, but it is possible for anyone anywhere to execute this type of fraud. Casavant had to convince eBay that he was the victim, that he was the real eBay client, and that the fees generated under his account and against his credit card during the period of theft should be waived. Fortunately for Casavant, the system worked in his favor, and everything was appropriately handled to his advantage. But the thief was never caught.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, if you think your identity has been stolen, here’s what you should do:

. Contact the fraud departments of any of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. This will instruct creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts. Once the alert is placed, you can order a free copy of your credit report from all three major credit bureaus.

. Close the account that you believe has been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the ID Theft Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized accounts.

. File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

. Finally, file your complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we can better assist you.

Some crimes, such as the subject of this article, are international problems and may require the extra step of contacting Interpol to assist in coordinating two separate police bodies.

Buyer beware: Use a healthy dose of skepticism in your Internet transactions. Whenever asked for personal information through e-mail, make sure you know and trust the source. This is the new age of piracy. The high seas are the information highway, and these buccaneers are technologically savvy.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT-Maine Center for the Public Interest, Maine’s membership-funded, nonprofit consumer organization. Individual memberships are $25, and business rates start at $125 (0-10 employees). For help and information, write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.