When Identity theft happens, experts say it can take up to 600 hours to straighten things out.

One local expert wants to hold informational meetings here, as a way of keeping residents informed of the risks associated with the crime.

Rob Bickert, a former computer security expert, now works with a company providing 24-hour legal support to its clients when they suspect they may be victims of identity theft.

He has been with Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc. as an identity theft risk management consultant for almost four years. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas, for which he has written reports designed to make local business owners and citizens in general aware of the risks posed by information thiefs.

Those risks, he said, are getting worse, not better in the years he has worked with the likes of Symantec Corp. — a company that develops antivirus computer software.

Pre-Paid Legal provides access to a network of lawyers as part of a $34 per month membership.

The company was established in 1972.

Bickert talks about the prevalence of identity theft and its common forms for this week’s Q&A;:

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QUESTION: Are you an attorney?

ANSWER: No, I’m not but what I do is I represent the best attorney’s in 50 states and four provinces of Canada in regards to Identity theft. Our service is to legal fees as your health care is to medical and hospital fees. We have a month to month legal plan which provides people with affordable access to the legal system and identity theft protection.

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Q: Are there more victims today than in years prior?

A: Identity theft has surpassed, dollar for dollar, the illegal drug trade. It (illegally generates) $105 billion per year.

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Q: What are the most common forms of identity theft?

A: The most common form is going to be financial — your credit cards. But that only encompasses about 26 percent of what’s considered identity theft. What we offer is a suite of (services) which help protect a person’s identity before, during and after a compromise. There are four other major forms: Driver’s license theft, social security, character/criminal and the one that can actually kill you — medical identity theft. Let’s face it, your Blue Cross and Blue Shield card you carry in your wallet is a $1 million dollar credit card for health benefits.

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Q: Is this type of crime more prevalent in the U.S. than it is elsewhere?

A: No, it’s across the world, and the perpetrator doesn’t have to be in the U.S. There is a boot camp, there was a training camp held in the Ukraine recently where you could go and learn how to steal somebody’s identity.

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Q: This is a common news story these days. Is the issue getting enough attention?

A: It is getting attention ... you’re going to see a story that somehow, some way somebody got their identity stolen, but your identity needs to be monitored on a day to day basis. To restore an identity takes about 600 hours.

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Q: How can residents of the Tonawandas learn more?

A: As a matter of fact, my business partner and I are looking to hold workshops in some of the local churches and libraries that have meeting rooms, on what I.D. theft is, how you can protect yourself and what tools are available.

Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.