When people decide to go cracking/hacking, there is a good chance that you will get caught eventually, but that can be forestalled if you take a few precautions...

*Trust no-one share information anonymously.
*Never go on IRC with a real name or real nickname.
*Never connect to IRC using your normal IP address.
*Chain together anonymous proxies to hide yourself.
*Use Secure Shell to telnet to shell accounts.
*Never tell anyone a real name, address or phone number.
*Never Never hack or scan exchanges from a home phone.
*Never hack from a legitimate ISP. (AOL)
*Encrypt everything incriminating on your hard drive.
*Beware of "hacker wargames" don't even waste your time on them...
*Never use the same passwords for hacked and legitimate accounts.
*Never use hack/phreak BBSs with a real name or handle.
*Trust no-one, even those good ol' hackers at 2600.. (you know who you are)!

Even using these guidelines can never guarantee that crackers/hackers won't get caught, but if you start from the very beginning by being very careful, you might last long enough to become a skilled and experienced cracker, which is only one step away from being a highly paid security consultant