You probably already know some of the oft-repeated tips for cutting the risk of identity theft, things like don't carry your Social Security card and remember to shred pre-approved credit card applications before throwing them away, to thwart Dumpster-divers.

Well, you might want to add this warning to the list: Don't get involved in a lawsuit.

For nearly a year, the Allegheny County prothonotary's office has been electronically scanning court documents in civil cases, including divorces and child custody cases, and posting them online for public access.

The problem is that many of the files contain potentially sensitive personal data, including birth dates, Social Security numbers, even bank account numbers -- the information ID thieves crave in order to steal people's identities.

The prothonotary's office believes it's the only court in the state, and one of the few nationwide, that allows unfettered electronic access to court filings, throwing it into the forefront of a debate pitting greater public access against concerns about privacy.

Advocates of electronic access, including the local prothonotary's office and the news media, defend the practice by pointing out that the court filings being displayed are already public record and can be viewed in hard copy at courthouses.

"We've taken the position these are public records and should be available for public viewing," Prothonotary Michael Lamb said, explaining his office's decision to go online. "We're [electronically] scanning in everything that comes across our desk."

Critics, chiefly consumer privacy groups, argue that since paper filings are relatively difficult and time-consuming to obtain (it requires visiting the courthouse and asking a clerk to retrieve them by case number or name), sensitive personal data is protected by "practical obscurity." Simply put, electronic access makes viewing court records a whole lot easier, for both the public and ID thieves.

In Allegheny County, anyone can log into the system through the prothonotary's Web site. It doesn't take long to figure out which types of cases typically include sensitive personal data.

In less than 20 minutes, the Post-Gazette was able to view dozens of documents containing names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and other confidential information used by ID thieves.

Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer advocacy group in San Diego, said she was "floored" and "outraged" that the county would post such information electronically.

"That's extraordinarily poor judgment on the part of the courts," she said. "In this age of identity theft, it's appalling. I'm really surprised there hasn't been an outcry" to stop the practice.

Lamb said his office decided that "a compelling interest in providing access to information" outweighed any drawbacks of going online.

In addition to Allegheny County, he said, a handful of other counties in Pennsylvania provide electronic access to court records, although he said those filings are only accessible on the courts' proprietary systems, not on the Internet.

"We're the only one" providing Web access, Lamb said, "but the others would do it if they could afford it. That's what we're told."

For the past few years, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts has studied the issue of electronic access to court records in hopes of eventually releasing a set of guidelines.

"The state courts recognize the concerns that have been raised about public access to electronic records," spokesman Art Heinz said.

There will be many difficult issues to tackle, however.

Allegheny County Common Pleas President Judge Joseph James said he's torn.

On the one hand, he appreciates the convenience of accessing legal documents quickly and easily using the prothonotary's Web site, and likes the idea of better enabling the public to scrutinize judicial conduct.

"We want the world to see what we are doing," he said.

On the other hand, he's concerned about identity theft and about putting other kinds of information online "that's not appropriate," such as child custody cases.

"What's the answer? I don't know," he said.

In the future, he said, "courts may decide to sanitize hard copies, too, once more people discover anyone can come into the courthouse and get these things."

Lamb said he welcomes rules protecting certain personal information in court filings, but said the responsibility for eliminating the data should be placed on the parties filing the suits.

"Court record-keepers shouldn't be in the position of tampering with records," he said. "There is no way, with the volume of filings, that we have the manpower to review documents or the expertise to determine what should or should not be redacted."

Supporters of full access say critics are overstating the risk of ID theft. They say there are much more efficient ways for ID thieves to ply their trade, such as through Internet "phishing" scams and using criminal rings to access records from banks and retailers.

That argument doesn't sit well with Givens.

"The crime of identity theft is at epidemic proportions today, fueled in part by easy access to Social Security numbers," she said.

"Identity theft has a devastating effect on its victims. They are unable to obtain home loans, refinance their homes, purchase vehicles on credit, rent an apartment, even obtain employment."