For the 7th consecutive year, identity theft is the No. 1 complaint filed with the federal government. In fact, it accounts for almost 40 percent of all complaints made today. It happens for all kinds of reasons, including local governments putting your social security number on Web sites. There is a lot of focus on industry being sloppy with our numbers, but government is just as guilty. In Texas, the state’s Attorney General has made it a crime for any government agency or individual to post this information. Even if it’s done inadvertently, that government worker can be charged with a crime. There is a site that allows you to see if your social security number has been compromised. It is called stolenidsearch.com. The site tries to push other ID theft prevention software that costs money, but don’t buy into those. Just enter your number and read what it says. So, where are you at the greatest risk to have your identity stolen? Based on per capita, the Top 10 in reverse order are Springfield, Ill.; 9 - Dallas; 8 – Portland, OR; 7 -Phoenix ; 6 – Atlanta; 5 – Greenville, MS; 4 – Little Rock, Ark.; 3 – Los Angeles; and 2 – Detroit. The city where it is most likely to happen is New York City. Just because someone asks for your social security number, doesn’t mean you have to give it.