Identity theft can be expensive and take quite a bit of time to fix.

Trying to undo the damage of identity theft is an effort none of us want to make. But in order to avoid this crime happening to you, you need to be smart about how you handle your finances and personal information.

Luke Allen from the Twin Falls Police Department says always verify who you give your information to.

He said, "A lot of times people will solicit information from you online asking for your social security card information, bank account information, and make sure the person is who you say they are, before you give them the information."

Dale Dixon from the Better Business Bureau advises to keep a close eye on your accounts, even the smallest of charges.

He said, "Look for any red flags that may have gone unnoticed in the past. Scrutinize everything."

But what if you think you've become a victim of identity theft? What can you do? Call law enforcement first.

"It's very important law enforcement know. Then they need to go through the process of placing fraud alerts on all of their accounts so is contacting your banks, contacting your credit companies anywhere that has anything to do with money."

Fortunately in Twin Falls, Allen says they don't deal with these reports often.

He said, "We haven't had a lot of reports identity theft for quite awhile. The big thing about identity theft is that it's very difficult for a local police agency to investigate because the theft is occurring sort of here but most of the information is being sent to another state, even another country."

Allen advises to cancel your accounts and also run a credit report to see what purchases have been made and contact the government agency that handles that information.