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Each year thousands of Canadians fall victim to identity theft, and in a variety of ways.

It could be by them misplacing personal information, having their wallets swiped, mistakenly giving out credit card numbers over the phone or Internet, or having their data stolen through a "safe" source, such as a bank or hospital.

According to Phone Busters, the Canadian anti-fraud centre's monthly summary report, there have been 9,147 victim of identity theft in Canada from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31 of 2008.

Identity theft is one of Canada's fastest growing crimes and costs financial institutions more than $10 million annually.

Fraudsters can steal your identity by swiping your wallet or mail, and filling out a change of address form, having your credit card and banking info re-directed to a new mail box, and applying for a new credit card.

TransUnion Canada, a consumer credit reporting agency in Hamilton Ont., said the number of data breaches on company Web sites is also expanding. Hackers target Web banking and auto-dealer sites to collect personal, and financial information contained on these sites.

Despite these grim realities, Tom Reid, director of product evaluation and consumer relations at TransUnion, says there is no need to panic.

There are many different ways people can protect their personal information and ensure they don't get targeted in today's treacherous environment. "The best defense is becoming a harder target," he said.

 Canadians can minimize their risks by reducing being more vigilant and reducing opportunities for fraud.  

Reid offers up five key steps everyone can take to protect their credit.

1. Sign up for a credit monitoring system

The first thing Canadians can and should do is sign up for a credit monitoring program at any consumer credit reporting agency, such as TransUnion.ca.

The credit monitoring system is a strong tool for tracking your own credit history and recognizing any unauthorized activity.

Essentially these companies have taken the credit profile, primarily used by businesses, and turned it on its head – making the information available to credit card holders.

"We are helping Canadians to achieve more in terms of identity theft protection by directly providing them with notifications of key changes to their credit profile, including new credit inquiries," Reid said.

What many consumers don't know is that there could be a fairly big time lapse between the theft or data breach and when the identity fraud (use of stolen information) is committed.

Six to 12 months after your wallet or purse has been stolen, you might assume you are safe, but a fraudster could re-emerge to access new credit or take over existing credit.

Not only are your credit cards at risk, but fraudsters can establish a phone or wireless service, open checking accounts or file for bankruptcy under your name to avoid debts while impersonating you.

If someone is using your personal information, you may not find out about it until some point down the road when a collection agency calls asking when you will pay your debts, Reid said.

But a credit monitoring user will be notified immediately. 

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