Beware: Christmas Shopping Season Equals Identity Theft Season

The statistics on identity theft are staggering. According to the firm id Alerts 13.3 people per minute across North America become victims of identity theft, that works out to 799 people per hour and 19,178 people per day.

As a reporter, I've covered the identity theft issue pointing out that it could happen to anyone. It's one thing saying that, it's another living it. I lost my wallet recently at a large downtown Ottawa hotel with thousands of people floating around. When I realized it was lost and went back to find it, no one on staff had seen the wallet or the coat it was tucked inside of, now also lost.

Did I mention I lost my wallet and all my ID after attending a news conference on identity theft? It's okay you can laugh at me, everyone else has.

But at least I had just spoken to some of the best experts in the business of protecting your vital data. My first step was canceling my cards, but what about more general advice.

Nancy Hughes Anthony is with The Canadian Bankers Association. "Absolutely don't give out your credit card and debit card numbers and certainly not your pin number to anybody, on the phone, on email, unless you absolutely know the person and you know they have a legitimate reason to have it."

There are so many ways to lose vital information, besides losing your wallet. With the growth in Online shopping comes a growth in online fraud.

Kevin Stanton President of MasterCard Canada says his company is working on ways to outsmart the fraudsters " There is product MasterCard puts out, and the other companies have similar products, we call it Secure Code. And through that you verify yourself to the merchant as the proper card hold and in transferring the information there is no risk of identity loss."

Make sure, in addition to using protective services from your bank or credit card companies you also use a reliable virus and spy ware scanner.

Even following all the recommended steps can still lead to your identity being compromised, what to do then? Well Ken Porter with Tansunion, one of Canada's big two credit rating agencies says the often forgotten step is calling the credit bureau

"We'll work with you to put a flag or notice on your file to take care of that, and we'll help you, the consumer walk through the various steps"

Transunion makes it easy says Porter with several offices across the country, a 1-800 number and a web site. Free copies of your credit report are available and he recommends reviewing your report once or twice per year. Many victims he says don't find out they are victims of identity theft until they apply for a loan or credit card months after they've been compromised.

As for my wallet, the good news is I got it back, safe, intact and attached to my coat.