It seems like each and every day there is a story on the news about someone getting ripped off and having their identity stolen. It even happens to the rich and famous, so you can only imagine how vulnerable the rest of us are. There are, however, a certain number of common sense practices that we can all follow to help prevent identity theft. Remember, no matter how careful you are, no one is immune.

First, if you feel that you have been the victim of identity theft, contact your credit card company or companies as soon as possible. Many times the cardinal mistake that many people make is that they wait to see if their original suspicions were true before they act. That may seem like the prudent move on the surface, but the reality is that credit card companies are less likely to reimburse you for transactions that happened after the theft occurred if you wait. It is much better to call and ask the necessary questions now rather than finding out later you acted too slowly and getting stuck with charges you didn’t even make.

A second good preventative measure is to create an online account with your credit card company so that you can check your statement about once a week. Gone are the days when you had to wait for a month at a time to check your balance and your charges. With the speed in which lives can be ruined, you simply can not afford to wait a full month to see what is going on with your credit cards. You don’t have to check daily, but waiting more than once a week to check your accounts is playing with fire.

While more and more store clerks have been adhering to the policy of checking signatures and making sure that a credit card is legal before they charge it, if you are at your favorite store and the clerk doesn’t check your signature or doesn’t seem to care that you are paying with a credit card, it might be helpful to remind them. Store clerks are the most important safety valve we have to prevent credit card fraud and stolen identities. If this happens on a regular basis, you can either choose to not shop at that store any more or ask to speak to a manager. Companies these days lose tens of thousands of dollars per year on granting transactions on fake cards.

Finally, the best thing you can do is to use common sense. Keep an eye out in the news to see if any stores in your area are reporting security breaches. If you see one, call your card company right away and ask them if there has been any odd activity on your account. Try not to shop with your card online unless it is with a site that offers encryption. Fighting off the specter of credit card fraud is simple, but we all have to work together to stop it for good.