SAN DIEGO -- Thousands of Americans are victims of identity theft each year, but now a new tool could detect a threat before it claims another victim.

Suzanne Finch spent a month trying to get $3,000 back after, she said, someone used her identity to buy jewelry and shipped it to Russia. Finch did not find out until it was too late.

"I don't think people really think about identity theft until it actually happens to them," said Finch.

Now there is a way to find out if you could be a victim before you are a victim. ID Analytics in Carmel Mountain Ranch unveiled MyIDScore.com Monday, and the first-of-its-kind Web site gives you a score based on the chances of you becoming an identity theft victim.

"It's simply a way of measuring the health of their identity," said Larry McIntosh of ID Analytics.

On the Web site, users fill out personal information and answer a few questions. Then the system gives users a score between 0 and 999, and the higher the number, the bigger the risk of identity theft.

That score is based on a number of red flags. For example, if new credit card applications are being made in your name or a fraudulent loan was applied using your Social Security number, MyIDScore will warn you before those applications are approved. Otherwise, you might not find out until after your money is gone.

"We see many of those applications and at the point those applications are reviewed we can determine the risk-level of that consumer being a victim," said McIntosh.

"If you saw that your score was quite high, what that's telling you is there's a lot of stuff out there about you," said Dr. Murray Jennex of San Diego State University.

Jennex studies information systems at SDSU, and said the best way to protect your identity is to not throw it out or type it on a Web site. He said MyIDScore could be a good heads up that someone is trying to use your identity.

"Bad guys have your Social Security number, they have your birth date, they have your name and there's nothing that's going to stop them from using it in the future," said Finch.

Financial experts recommend users check their score every month.