The prevailing thought of identity theft being rare and not a major concern to us personally, even though we’re more aware than ever of its existence is simply not true.

No matter what you feel the chances are of having your identity stolen, you must realize that this can happen to anyone, and taking the small steps now to protect yourself could save you a great deal of difficulty in the future.

Identity theft most commonly occurs over the internet nowadays. Every website you visit, every time you download a program or file, all of these events leave you open and vulnerable to having your computer infected with software that can then steal your personal information, your passwords and anything else of value that may be stored on your computer. With the amount of internet banking and online credit card purchases that are made now, it’s not hard to imagine the kind of havoc this can cause in people’s lives.

Once you’ve become a victim of identity theft, it can take you a lifetime to fully remove the constant threat of that stolen identity coming back to haunt you. You could have accounts or lines of credit taken out in your name, crimes committed in your name, and can request further documentation from the government at any time, meaning all it takes is one element of your identity being stolen and a thief can fully take control over all aspects of it.

The most important first step to take when your identity has been stolen or you suspect it has, is to contact the authorities immediately. You’ll also need to contact government agencies and licensing bureaus as well, and finally every institution in which you deal with financially, from banks and credit cards companies to your property owner.

You must make an immediate freeze to every account you hold to prevent any action being taken in your name. You must also contest immediately any charges brought against any of your accounts that are not yours.

Once all these steps are complete, you can undergo the slow process of trying to fully retrieve your identity and finding out the answers as to how this happened.

For years from that point on you’ll need to be constantly alert and monitoring all the activity on your accounts to ensure the thief has not returned to try again. Closing all your old accounts and opening new ones is a good step, but this does not guarantee that you’ve defeated your foe.

Even with increased security and law enforcement presence on the internet, very few of these identity thefts ever result in anyone being apprehended.

More than 500,000 people have their identity stolen each year, and these numbers have been steadily increasing each year. Having a secure computer is one of the most important elements of protecting your identity, as is being aware of the sites you deal with and amount of security they have as well.

You should never input any financial or other important information into any website that isn’t on a secure server. Most sites that are will have a security sign on their site declaring this, so you should quickly be able to tell which sites are well protected and which aren’t.

Ultimately you may just wish to avoid the convenience of online shopping or banking altogether for the security of knowing your financial information is much more secure.