Doing so will let you see what credit accounts exist in your name, including those opened fraudulently or without your knowledge. To order your report online, visit the Web sites of the three major credit bureaus:

• Equifax - www.equifax.com
• Experian - www.experian.com
• TransUnion - www.tuc.com

There are other online services that offer free credit reports to consumers; however many of them require you to purchase credit monitoring services in order to get the free credit report. Also, these organizations cannot assist consumers in correcting any incorrect information on your credit report.

This may thwart identity thieves' attempts to access your credit history and purchase goods at various retail establishments that grant credit on-site. It will, however, prevent you from being granted immediate credit at most retail establishments without being called first. Call Equifax at (800) 525-6285, Experian at (888) EXPERIAN and TransUnion at (800) 680-7289.

Consider replacing your current mailbox with one that has a lock and never leave outgoing mail sitting in a non-secure mailbox. If you insist on using a mailbox without a lock, you might consider eliminating pre-approved offers of credit. You can opt-out of pre-approved credit offers by calling (888) 5-OPT-OUT.

Do not carry your Social Security card Should an identity thief steal your purse or wallet, it will be easier and faster for you to cancel a single card than several cards. This should minimize the thief's ability to make purchases using your credit cards.

Should any of your cards become lost or stolen, you will have the information necessary to cancel your cards immediately.

This includes bank statements, credit card statements, paystubs, insurance claim or payment forms, other financial documents and credit reports. Most identity thieves find the information they need to perpetrate crimes by going through people's trash.

Devices known as "skimmers" are sometimes used by counterpersons to copy the identifying information off a magnetic strip of a credit or debit card and later added to a fake card with a blank magnetic strip.

This should encourage retails sales clerks to ask for your ID any time that credit card is used. Though this is already standard practice at many retail establishments, it serves as a good reminder.

Should your checkbook be stolen, a sales clerk might be convinced that showing a valid ID is not necessary when your driver's license or Social Security number is already printed on the check.

• Californians can initiate a criminal investigation if they know or suspect that they are the victim of identity theft, which may be prosecuted as a felony in California.
• Consumers have the right to place a security alert on their credit report if they have been a victim or suspect they are currently a victim of identity fraud. This alert provides special notification to credit grantors that special attention should be paid to the application of credit pending before them. It does not, however, prevent credit from being granted.
• Consumers can have their entire consumer credit file "frozen" for up to 90 days if they believe they have been or are currently a victim of identity theft. This "freeze" prevents any new credit from being granted.
• You have the right to receive a copy of the documents submitted to a credit grantor by the suspected identity thief. Sometimes the identity thief is someone close to the victim and the victim can identify the thief's handwriting.
• Credit card customers must be notified if their information might be shared with marketers and given the opportunity to prohibit the sharing of their information.

• Supermarkets cannot ask for your Social Security number on a "club card" application.
• Financial institutions and other businesses can no longer use your Social Security number as an account number.
• You can have your name removed from the lists of telemarketers, excluding non-profits, political or religious organizations.
• Consumers can block information on their credit report that directly relates to an investigation of identity theft. A copy of an official police report must be provided to the credit reporting agencies.
• Businesses that legitimately have records with your identifying information on them must completely destroy or demonstrably alter all of these documents (so that the identifying information cannot be viewed) in the disposal process.
• Medical information cannot be used for the purpose of granting credit.

Immediately call all credit card issuers and let them know you've been a victim of identity theft.

Contact your local police department.

Once you have your police report completed, contact the major credit reporting agencies and begin the process of verifying and correcting the information in your credit report.

If you know through which credit grantor the identity thief secured credit in your name, request copies of all application documents the identity thief filed with that credit grantor.

Document all correspondence with the police department, credit grantors and credit reporting agencies.

When the thief who stole your identity is arrested, engage in regular contact with your local district attorney and ask for information about the case.

Request your old cards cancelled, your old accounts closed and new cards and accounts opened immediately.

Begin the process of filing a police report to document the identity theft.

It would be wise to request either a freeze of your credit report (renewable for 90 days), or at minimum, a security alert on your credit report. Call Equifax at (800) 525-6285, Experian at (888) EXPERIAN and TransUnion at (800) 680-7289.

You can request that these documents be given directly to the police and added to your police report.

Keep copies of your correspondence. If your case is not resolved to your satisfaction, contact the Federal Trade Commission, by filling out a complaint on their Web site: www.ftc.gov.

Though district attorneys are busy, it is important for them to know that identity thefts are a concern to consumers.