When the chairman of the Federal Reserve becomes the victim of identify theft, then you know the rest of us should be worried.

Chairman Ben Bernanke’s personal checking account was looted, the Associated Press reported Friday, after his wife’s purse containing her driver’s license and Social Security number was stolen from a Washington coffee shop. The theft was later found to be the work of a ring responsible for more than $2.1 million in losses involving 10 financial institutions.

The Bernanke case demonstrates how losing key pieces of information, like birth date, address and Social Security number, is like giving thieves the keys to your life savings. What Americans may not realize is the extent to which thieves are constantly trolling our online activities for this same information.

Google’s engineers estimate that 10 percent of all Web pages are engaged in “drive-by-downloads” of malicious software, like viruses, worms and spyware. Google also lists, according to a recent column in the New York Times, 330,000 dangerous Web sites, a number which has more than doubled in the past year.

Last week, the the anti-virus software maker McAfee reported that people searching online for information about celebrities are particular targets of online thieves. For instance, according to McAfee, a search for actress “Jessica Biel” has a 20 percent chance of leading to a Web site that has tested positive for malware. Fans of Patriots QB Tom Brady are also frequently victimized.

Meanwhile, experts say popular social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are increasingly being targeted by thieves looking for identity information. 

The Federal Trade Commission reports that 1.2 million complaints of identify fraud were reported to police in 2008, up 16 percent from the previous year. The losses totaled $1.8 billion, or about $3,400 per victim. Remarkably, 257 people reported losing $1 million or more.

Most victims said their initial contact with a thief came from e-mail or from visiting a Web site.

While few people are likely to give up the convenience and advantages of the Web for financial safety, there are some common sense things people can do to reduce the risk, according to the Web site fightidentitytheft.com:

• Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet or purse.

• Remove and destroy the hard drive when you dispose of a computer. Killing or erasing data simply means that space is available for the computer to use. The information often remains recoverable by thieves.

• Don’t check the “Remember me” boxes when you use Web sites that require passwords and sign-ons.

• Make a photocopy of all the cards, both sides, in your wallet or purse and keep it in a safe place. When your purse or wallet goes missing, you can quickly close down access to your accounts.

• Obtain virus software for your computer and update it regularly. If it stops a thief, the anti-virus software will pay for itself many times over.

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