Protecting yourself from identity theft is really just using basic common sense. Keep an eye on all of your financial accounts on a regular basis (don't stuff those statements in a drawer, read them!). Set up email alerts on accounts for unusual activity (transactions over a certain dollar amount.) At a minimum get your free credit report annually (or more frequently by using the 3 different agencies.) Forget about the cute guy playing the guitar, advertising freecreditreport.com........he's not telling the truth! That service is not part of the annual free credit report legislation.