Just before 6:30 Saturday morning the phone screeched in the darkness, jolting me from slumber. Phone calls at unlikely hours always drench me with dread.

A voice with a distinct New York accent asked for my husband. I handed over the phone.

Listening to one side of the conversation, my heart racing, I was able to glean the other side.

Western Union in New York was calling. Seems someone contacted Western Union only minutes before and attempted to wire money using my husband's credit card. The thief was able to provide my husband's date of birth, our home address and phone number.

The person with Western Union in New York called us to verify the validity of the transaction because she had become suspicious. Her records showed half dozen such transactions in the past ten days in ever increasing amounts.

My husband contacted his credit card company immediately and canceled the card, a card he had received only ten days before, exactly the time the thief managed to steal the number and start wiring money.

The card had been used by my husband on the Internet only once, and that was to keep our internet service provider on automatic billing. He had used it for a handful of charges in the vicinity of our home in Castle Rock, too.

My husband and I quickly pulled copies of our credit reports Saturday and saw nothing out of the ordinary. No accounts unknown to us have been opened. No suspicious inquiries are shown. No other balances look out of whack.

Though we are not financially responsible for the fraudulent charges at Western Union, we are unsettled. The thief had not just the card information (which could be obtained any number of ways by anyone employed by any merchant from whom we made purchases), but also has my husband's date of birth and accurately provided our home address and phone number.

Thoughts swirl of identity theft. I have read of lives turned upside down by thieves tapping into people's credit reports, bank accounts, charge accounts and more. In worst cases thieves manage to obtain identification using someone else's information. They can proceed to live under stolen identity, often committing crimes.

In researching identity theft, most sources advise these basic, vital steps as protection:

1. Guard your Social Security number. Keep Social Security cards at home, never in your wallet, and never provide your Social Security number if you can avoid doing so.

2. Shred mail that might include personal, identifying information.

3. Review credit reports at least annually; more often if you have reason to suspect problems.

We are in the process of making certain no other accounts, including bank and investment accounts, have been tampered with. We are placing fraud alerts at the three credit reporting agencies. We have made certain our Social Security cards are safely tucked away.

Still, we worry. We are doing all we can to protect ourselves, but we cannot immunize ourselves against identify theft. No one can.

Learn more about identify theft at:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/