CLEVELAND -- Identity thieves can steal your sense of well-being, your good credit and your money.

Now, several banks and insurance companies are selling identity theft insurance. NewsChannel5's Adam Shapiro looked at whether purchasing this protection is worth it.

On Wednesday, identity theft crook Jerome Moonie was sentenced to two years for his crime, but he'll be out of prison before most victims are able to fix their credit.

That's why ID theft insurance may sound like a good deal. But make sure you know what you are buying.

Identity theft is a crime that totals almost $50 billion, and has 10 million victims nationwide, reported Shapiro.

Maureen Mitchell, of Cleveland, is one of those victims.

"Being the victim of identity theft is equated to financial rape and all the insurance in the world will not minimize the emotional trauma to the victim and the invasion of privacy that has occurred," said Mitchell.

Mitchell has her identity stolen six years ago, and has been trying to get her life back ever since.

"The paper work in this brief case alone represents 400 hours of time, effort, blood, sweat and tears, and this is just our first round of ID theft -- there's another briefcase at home," said Mitchell.

National City Bank Vice President Thomas Munoz says that studies have shown that it takes as long as two years for a customer to restore their identity.

This is one reason National City is getting ready to offer customers identity theft insurance, called Identity Protect.

"In the event they do become a victim, Identity Protect will help them recover their identity and fix their credit report," said Munoz.

It costs $9 a month, gives you unlimited access to your credit reports and provides up to $25,000 for out-of-pocket and legal expenses ID theft victims might encounter fixing their credit.

National City will even assign a counselor to do all the legwork for you.

But Federal Trade Commission fraud investigator Loretta Kraus says most identity theft victims can fix their credit on their own for free.

The FTC Web site provides all the legal forms.

Consumers can check their credit report once a year, free of charge, although Identity Protect lets you check it as often as you want.

And one simple phone call to any credit reporting bureau places a fraud alert on all your accounts to prevent future abuse.

Mitchell lobbied congress successfully to help victims recover their identity, and now she says the remediation process is much more streamlined than before.

But Munoz says National City's Identity Protect helps prevent theft before it gets out of hand.

"The key with identity theft is to catch it early," said Munoz. "One of the attributes of Identity Protect, they email weekly alerts and the unlimited access to credit reports gives you the maximum chance to fight identity theft."

Mitchell fiercely guards her social security number and says giving it to a bank counselor to fix your credit just opens the door for more potential problems.

To access the necessary forms for fixing your credit and for more information about identity theft, go the FTC's Web site.