All I wanted to do was pay my cell phone bill and check to see how much I had left in my bank account.

I was thoroughly surprised to see I had spent exactly $4,000 in one day — discovering the tragedy on Easter, no less.

Unless I’m paying tuition, there is no way I’ll spend that much moolah in 24 hours.

Someone had the ability to steal my personal banking information, hack into my checking account and steal my money.

I have never felt as victimized and vulnerable as I did Sunday, when I discovered my funds were missing. Fortunately, it had happened only five days before, making it a timely find. I alerted the authorities who responded the next day with positive feedback and a message that I would indeed get my money back.

I also filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission to ensure it would not happen again and the person or persons would be prosecuted after a thorough investigation.

Now I’ve got to deal with the hassle that is changing account numbers and online passwords.

I thought identity theft protection through my bank would suffice, but it isn’t exactly foolproof.

And it isn’t that I don’t pay attention to my finances — it’s something I frequently keep up on. At least I have the comfort of knowing I can work with the authorities and they will respond quickly.

The feeling of utter helplessness and the sense of immense privacy loss are very real.

I cannot imagine what it must feel like to have an entire account wiped out, much less cleaning up the mess caused by the security breach. I caught mine before anything other than emotional distress occurred.

But waiting truly is the hardest part. I want my money back. And I want justice served against those guilty parties responsible for stealing from me.

It’s recommended that consumers change their personal identification numbers, or PINs, every 30-60 days, which I thought was ridiculous. Now I realize the consequences of not following that recommendation.

I also realize this could have happened to any one of us, which makes the reality of identity theft even scarier.

Not only can robbers hack into your online accounts, but they also can engage in “dumpster diving” to retrieve your unshredded bank documents.

The results of a 2005 FTC survey showed that 8.3 million American adults were identity theft victims, which is about 3.7 percent of all American adults.

“In at least half of all incidents, thieves obtained goods or services worth $500 or less. In 10 percent of cases, however, thieves got at least $6,000 worth of goods or services,” the commission reported.

Oftentimes, thieves open new accounts under stolen identities, forcing the real person to clean up thousands of dollars worth of credit cards, bank accounts and even large purchases such as expensive homes.

I don’t want to be an alarmist; however, I do want to be a realist. The reality of identity theft is it truly can happen to anyone at random.

Make sure you don’t become a statistic. Keep an eye on all of your accounts, occasionally switch your passwords and know who to get in touch with if you should ever find yourself at the mercy of identity thieves.

Contact the FTC and your personal banking center for more information regarding the prevention of identity theft. If it already has happened to you, then you know the feeling of being victimized all too well.

Spread your knowledge about how to stop these crimes and arm yourself against possible theft.

Kristi Jourdan is a State News reporter. Reach her at jourdank@msu.edu.