You've seen the commercials. You've read the precautions. Identity theft is a serious thing and it happens to real people every day! If you aren't careful nearly anybody can get a hold of your personal information and use it to take over your identity- or at least your credit card number!

It is a federal crime to use someone else's Social Security Number, credit card, debit card or any other form of personal information. However, this doesn't stop thieves from doing it daily. If you care about your own personal financial situation you will do everything in your power to protect yourself.

Even those who are careful run a risk of having their rewards credit card or low APR card swiped by an online predator. Whether they are just getting their credit card applications taken from the mail or they are having their entire identity stolen, it is happening to many people today!

There are a few simple things a person can do to better protect himself from this. The first is to not put your Social Security Number on anything that doesn't specifically ask for it! Many people put their SSN on personal checks.

This is an absolute no-no because someone will get not only your SSN but your address and phone number as well! Also, it is a wise idea to invest in a shredder to get rid of all unused personal information. However, the most important way to fight identity crime is to understand it, so here we go!

Identity theft can happen on a small scale where you have someone trying to apply for credit cards online using your information or a large scale where someone has actually taken over your entire identity and ruined your credit score.

The prior case is the most popular and it happens to the tune of over 1000 people per day getting their credit card information stolen! So, how can you protect yourself?

Banks and credit card companies are constantly telling of the dangers of identity theft. It can take several years to come back from a bad enough battle with theft. Talk with your credit card company to see what they offer to protect their customers but here are a few basic guidelines you can follow to ensure your safety:

1. Buy a shredder! Shredding personal information, such as bank statements, credit card bills and anything else that has your Social Security Number or account numbers is vital.
2. Check your credit report! By checking your credit score every couple of months you will be taking the biggest precaution against someone stealing your information. Catching identity theft quickly is the most important thing.
3. Use tough passwords! Many people use their first or last names as a password and make it incredibly easy to crack- for an online predator! Use a password only you will be able to figure out!
4. Only put your SSN on legally requiring documents. If you put it on any old form it won't take long to get your information stolen!
5. Get your name off the mailing lists! The credit agencies and credit card companies have your name on a mailing list where they will send you all the new offers. Your name will stay on this list until you ask to get it off.

Once you find out that someone has gotten a hold of your identity you should report it immediately. The longer you wait the worse the situation will get so talk with your creditors and the credit bureaus as soon as you find out.

Even people with the best online credit card offers fall prey to credit card theft so you need to be aware of what to do. Many people find out once their checks start to bounce or when collection agencies start calling the home.

A good thing to consider would be signing up for a credit monitoring service. These only cost around $30 or $40 and they will check your credit report every day and let you known every time your information changes. It is a worthwhile investment!

There are a few things you need to do when you find out your information has been stolen:

1. File a police report. You want a copy on the record that shows that your information was tampered with. This may come in handy in the future if you need proof.
2. Talk to the creditors whose accounts have been stolen. Make sure your creditors are on the up and up because they are your best help.
3. Talk to the credit bureaus. Make sure all three credit bureaus- Equifax, Trans-Union and Experian- all know about what happened so they can ‘flag' your account until things get cleared up.

Since credit card theft and identity theft happen all the time it isn't the end of the world if it happens to you but the more you protect against it happening the better off you will be. Most thieves get your information by sifting through your garbage cans so by ripping/ shredding all of your personal information you will be ensuring this can't happen.

Follow these simple steps if you want to do everything possible to stay protected. It could take years to recover from identity theft or it could take weeks- it just depends on how you react!