Can there be anything worse than the theft of your identity? It is a violation of something really personal, almost as if someone was watching you in the shower.

These days identity theft has reached epidemic proportions, and hardly a day goes by without the news services reporting on someone swindled by someone with easy money on their mind. The first thing you must do as soon as you are aware there has been the possibility of identity theft is to personally contact each organization with which you have credit. That means credit cards, debit cards, mortgages and any other organization that has lent you money. Do not forget to notify those companies where you might still have an open account but have not used credit in a while. Just because you have a zero balance doesn\'t mean someone could not use that card.

Cancel those credit cards and have the company reissue them to you. Keep diligent records of who you spoke with, copies of notes you have sent and so forth. It is a time consuming process, but it is necessary in order to preserve your credit.

Once you have notified all those who have extended you credit, it is time to make sure it does not happen again. There are numerous companies who will watch over your credit for you, and regularly notify you if someone is seeking credit using your information. Maybe it is you, but if it is not you can nip the application in the bud. These identity theft specialists who watch over your credit also contact each of the three major credit concerns on your behalf. They can get you one free credit report from each service a year. While you can also do this on your own, having a third party take care of this on a regular basis is a better bet, as it becomes a matter of course rather than something you have to remember to do.

In the future, make sure you tear up and shred all correspondence that has been sent to you with any identifying personal data. Second, shred credit card receipts once you do not need them. Finally, invest in a credit monitoring service that watches out for you, ensuring your credit remains spotless in the future.

Keep a constant watch on your identity to be safe. If you would like more information including reviews of credit protection services then visit my website.