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

I strongly encourage you to take a few simple steps to protect yourself from identity theft, which affects as many as 9million 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.”

Most of us know these identity protection tips but they are worth repeating. Carry as few credit cards as possible, and leave your Social Security card locked up at home. Never give out personal information by phone, mail or on the Internet unless you initiated the exchange and know who you are dealing with. Buy and use a shredder.

Other important steps include emptying your mailbox as soon as possible; shredding or tearing up any identifying information before discarding them. Also make sure online purchases are from secure sites, one good sign is that the address bar turns green in the most recent versions of Web browsers.

Also, you should 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 report. This should, at the least, be done by ordering your yearly free credit report but for better protection could include daily monitoring through a credit report monitoring service.

Federal law forced each of the three national credit reporting companies, Experian, Equifax and Transunion, to provide Americans with one free credit report each year. The reports can be obtained at http://www.annualcreditreport.com or alternatively by phone or mail. Consumer advocates recommend rotating requests among the three bureaus, obtaining a report every four months.

If you want even better protection, consider thinking about paying for a identity theft service. Learn what these companies have to offer and how they protect you from identity theft.

Though many identity protection companies offer similar services they are not all the same. One of the best credit monitoring services around is Trusted ID. Their system simply works, it is like having your own personal security guard working for you 365 days a year to protect your identity and your future credit opportunities.