NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Have you been a victim of identity theft? If the answer is no, consider yourself lucky. It can cost victims thousands of dollars and countless hours to clear their name.

The U.S. Attorney's office Tuesday said it is going to aggressively go after identity thieves. To do it, they brought law enforcement and prosecutors from all over the state together to teach them what's happening on the streets and how thieves are taking you to the bank.

Skimming is the most popular way for a thief to steal your identity, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. A quick swipe of your card and your information is gone, often used on the Internet.

But it doesn't always have to be that sophisticated. Someone stole Dana Ayres purse and wrote checks for thousands

“I don't have an identity,” Ayres said.

And Ayres isn't alone -- The Bureau of Justice's latest statistics said 6.4 million households will be affected by ID theft, and middle Tennessee is not immune.

Law enforcement officers and prosecutors crowded together Tuesday to learn the latest ways the thieves strike and how to build cases that will hold up in court. But there are also things you can do:

1. Keep a close eye on all your accounts.
2. Check your credit report every year -- You can get a free one at annual credit report.com.
3. Shred everything.

John Webb, deputy criminal chief of economic crimes, said complacency is a killer.

“I think they should be afraid that they are potential victims,” said Webb.

Once ID theft happens, it can be a headache to fix. Ayres has been trying to straighten out her situation for weeks because she didn’t have key information.

“The bank never said, ‘Close the account’,” she said. “They just said, ‘Cancel your outstanding checks, and you should be OK’.”

But Webb said to cancel your accounts immediately, place a fraud alert on your credit report and get a new driver's license. But once the damage is done, Webb said to get ready for an uphill battle.

“In many instances, you have to prove to the credit card company, to the credit reporting agency, that you are not the person that incurred the debt,” he said. “In effect, you're proving your innocence.”

Victims spend on average between 30 and 97 hours repairing damaged identities

The U.S. Attorney’s office said that's why it wants to increase public awareness and also increase the punishments against ID thieves.

In the last year, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Nashville has brought federal charges against 38 people related to identity theft.

It hopes that number will continue to go up with better informed law enforcement.