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In August, 2008, CNN and many other news agencies reported on the largest case of identity theft in the United States. According to reports, more than 100million credit and debit card numbers were stolen by an identity theft ring that hacked into the computer networks of nine national retail chains, including TJX Cos, Barnes & Noble, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and OfficeMax.

I strongly encourage you to take a few simple steps to protect yourself from this crime, which affects as many as 8 million Americans each year, costing billions of dollars and countless hours to correct the problems it creates.

By law, when a data breach occurs, a company is required to send a letter to notify customers of their possible exposure, said Steve Ely, a divisional president for credit reporting company Equifax Inc. In the article from CNN, Ely said companies often downplay the problem to minimize damage to their reputation. “Ninety-nine percent of the time breach letters look like a piece of junk mail, and people throw them away.”

And indictments like those announced in August aren’t likely to prevent your data from getting into the hands of other criminals, warned Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy at Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit in San Diego.

“Even though they may have found the individuals,” said Stephens, “that is no guarantee that that information is not out there and available to people to use for fraudulent purchases.”

We’ve all heard these warnings before:. Carry as few credit cards as possible, and leave your Social Security card at home. Never give out personal information by phone, mail or on the Internet unless you initiated the exchange and are clear why you’re sharing such details. Buy and use a shredder.

Other important steps include emptying your mailbox as soon as possible; shredding or tearing up credit card offers, bills and other personal papers before throwing them in the garbage. Also make sure Web sites used for online purchases are secure, one good sign is that the URL changes from http to https.

In my experience, it’s best that you limit or eliminate the use of debit or check cards linked to bank accounts, especially online. If you do, you should also regularly monitor your credit file. This should, at the least, be done by ordering your free credit report each year but for better protection could include daily monitoring through a credit monitoring service.

Upon request, Federal law requires each of the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, to provide consumers with one free credit report each year. The reports can be obtained at http://www.annualcreditreport.com or alternatively by phone or mail. Many people recommend rotating requests among the three credit bureaus, obtaining a report every four months.

If that sounds like too much work for you, consider paying for a credit protection service. Make sure you compare them to find the right choice for yourself.

Keep in mind though that not all service are created equally. One of the best identity theft protection services around is TrustedID. They place and renew your fraud alerts, monitor your credit and provide a guarantee, it is like having your own personal security guard on duty 24/7 to protect your good name and credit.

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