Once again, there have been more instances of Identity Theft, as a result of unsecured networks, greedy employees and contractors, and lost or stolen laptops. More people have had their personal information compromised, and now currently live in the possibility that someone out there is using their identity for illegal activities, such as immigration, money fraud, or even medical fraud. Some of the people affected don't even know that their information has fallen into the wrong hands. Others may have received a letter from some institution alerting them to the fact that their identities may have been compromised.

How aware of these events are you? Are you watching the news, or reading the newspaper or learning about it on a website on the Internet? Do you pay attention to Identity Theft, even though it may have not happened to you yet? Or are you just know paying attention to the overwhelming breaches because you just had a bad experience due to someone actually getting your personal information? If it has happened to you, then of course your awareness is already raised, but if it hasn't yet, you may want to pay attention to what's going on in the world.

There are services out there that can monitor the use of your personal information. The first and perfect example is to talk to one of the 3 main credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. They've also partnered together and created a website, www.annualcreditreport.com, where you can request a free credit report once a year. You may see a lot of companies offering services to monitor your credit, or keep a watchful eye on your personal information. Before you sign up for this, make sure you do your research on which company is to be trusted. The last thing you want to happen is to have your identity stolen while trying to keep an eye on it.

Another step you can take is to set up an alert based on a company you use, such as your bank, or investment company or University, and every time that company is mentioned, you will receive an email notifying you. Google allows for this to be possible by their alert system found here: http://www.google.com/alerts. For example, you can set up an alert for your bank ?BANK NAME? and anytime that they appear in the news, you will receive a notification with a link about the news article, and from there you can read the article to see if a breach has occurred. As you set these up, you will learn more and more what terms you are looking for, and what terms you may not want to use.

Again, you must be vigilant when keeping an eye on your Identity. Do everything you can to make sure no one else takes advantage of it.