A local security company is holding presentations across the country to warn people — especially college students — of their vulnerability to identity theft.

LifeLock, a Tempe-based identity-theft protection company, recently released data about its LifeLock Speaker Series, which aims to combat identity theft through education and cooperation with law enforcement.

The series is a compilation of educational presentations that are designed to focus on the state and severity of identity theft as well as options for consumers, according to a press release.

So far in 2009, the speaker series has reached 4,500 consumers in more than 20 states.

Paige Pedersen, a public affairs specialist for LifeLock, said the more education a person gets about identity theft, the less likely he or she is to become a victim.

“You’re always giving out your social security number at school,” Pedersen said. “It isn’t until you get your credit checks when you do apply for school or apply for a car loan that you figure out you’ve been a victim.”

File-sharing services like Limewire make it possible for third parties to view your credit card and personal information, she said. Using such services can give third parties access to bank statements and credit card information.

“In Arizona, we’re No. 1 in identity theft,” Pedersen said.

Aerospace engineering sophomore Ruben Gameros had his information stolen by his father, who shares his same name.

“When I turned 18 and went to get a credit card, I was $10,000 in debt,” he said.

Gameros, who said his father is hiding in Mexico, said he is now paranoid about keeping his information secure.

“I use separate e-mail accounts for making purchases online,” he said.

Mike Scerbo, spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, said the number of cases for identity theft in the past four years has remained consistent at about 550 annually.

This consistent number of cases in the midst of hard economic times causes prosecutors to have higher case loads, Scerbo said.

“Maricopa County, like every other county in the nation, is faced with financial difficulties,” he said. “We have to deal with these tougher financial times and make the best of the situation.”

Maricopa County was the first to create a Fraud and Identity Theft Enforcement Bureau, Scerbo said. Through the bureau and cooperation with law enforcement officials, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is working to catch and prosecute identity thieves.

Tempe police spokesman Sgt. Steve Carbajal said identity theft is a very difficult crime to be proactive about because it’s a different type of crime.

Often it is done over the Internet and is harder to track than an in-person crime that has physical evidence. Tempe police has special departments that handle these cases, he said.

Local police departments work together at the East Valley Fusion Center, where they share information and are able to collaborate on these complex crimes, Carbajal said. Though he believes the unit has a good handle on fighting identity theft, he said it could always use more resources and funding.

Tempe police works in partnership with a lot of outside organizations like LifeLock, he said, adding that these agencies are good because they notify consumers of any strange activity.

The detectives at Tempe police are skilled in what to look for when tracking suspected identity thieves, Carbajal said. There is typically some sort of trail left behind.

“Criminals know no boundaries and neither do law enforcement agencies,” he said.

Reach the reporter at ndgilber@asu.edu.