I'm Roberta Glass and you're listening to my true crime report.

My guest, Dr. Axton-Betz Hamilton, teaches at South Dakota State and has a master's degree in consumer sciences and retailing and a PhD in human development and family studies.

She has written and lectured extensively

about identity theft and elder financial exploitation perpetrated by family members. She has written

a terrific new memoir entitled The Less People Know About Us, about the Decades of decades of identity fraud she and her family experienced

at the hands of an unknown perpetrator. It wasn't until after her mother's death when she

uncovered the truth. Her own mother had been the one stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars

and her identity.

Welcome, Dr. Axton Betts Hamilton.

Oh, well, thank you for having me.

It's good to be here.

So I loved your book.

What made you want to write it and why is it titled The Less People Know About Us?

Well, I've always wanted to write a book about my identity theft experience.

You know, ever since I learned that I was a victim and I wanted to, back when I was 19,

write about this because there just wasn't a lot of support in the process of trying to recover my identity.

I didn't feel that people in general understood what it was like to experience identity theft.

And at that time, someday, I hope to write a book that would help others. And of course, as you know, I that time, someday I hope to write a book, you know, that would help others.

And of course, as you know, I eventually did that.

And the reason it's titled, The Less People Know About Us, is because that's something my mom would say.

And she would say that to me and she would say that to my dad.

And it was part of this longer phrase,

...