In the world of identity theft, it doesn't pay to assume "it won't happen to me."

In fact, with an average of a new victim every three seconds in 2012 -- and the rate of breaches seeming to increase at a faster pace than the national debt -- you might as well assume that it will happen to you and be prepared when it does.

Identity theft can dig you a debt ditch deeper than the Mariana Trench. But I've found a $1.4 billion company -- a mere pollywog among the multi-billion-dollar big fish in this sector -- that's throwing out lifelines to consumers and dishing out profits to investors.

In fact, this little gem just reported record revenues and hundreds of thousands of new customers in the third quarter. Its IPO went for $9 just over a year ago, and newcomers to the stock are basking in 75% gains.

We'll take a closer look at the company in a moment, but first, let's talk about what drives this crime today, how big the business of identity theft has become, and what is being done to protect people like you and me.

A $21 Million Violation Of Privacy
Unfortunately, the same technologies that make banking, shopping and working so convenient also make identity theft easier. An estimated 12.6 million people were victimized last year, at a cost of $21 billion. At a projected annual growth rate of 4%, the losses are on pace to grow even more staggering.

Stolen Social Security numbers caused the most damage because they're almost always required to open new accounts, but credit card fraud accounts for more than 65% of all cases.

The ways in which thieves steal information has become sophisticated: They can read "noise" waves and intercept data with ATM skimmers, or infiltrate peer-to-peer networks like music sites. Other ways include phishing (by email), "SMSishing" (by text) or "Vishing" (by voicemail).

It's not all rocket science, though. Many old-school ways still work: Dumpster diving, wallet stealing, snail mail swiping, looking over someone's shoulder at a device, giving credit card numbers to customer service reps or inputting any data online.

Unfortunately, thefts are adept at cracking codes, creating viruses and weaseling their way into improperly secured networks at work, school, banks -- really, any place that involves a computer.

People can only go so far to protect themselves, and, unfortunately even the most savvy IT professional in the world isn't capable of building an impenetrable fortress.

Unlocking The Door To Profits
Because identity theft has become so prevalent and such a b