I've become very concerned about it over the last couple years.

I have actually had junkmail advertisements come to me with x's for my social security and the last four digits clearly printed! I am assuming, if they have the last four digits, they probably have the first five as well. These are ads for credit cards, mortgages, etc. ANYBODY could fill these out - and they already have my social security number as proof of identification.

We had our (second) break in this past year - and they stole very little - but they DID find our cache of not-often-used cards (department stores, gas cards, etc.) and took them. We cancelled them, of course. But, if they had been visas or american expresses, they could have racked up heavy debt in just a few minutes.

I guess the only thing you can do is buy a paper shredder and shred every piece of paper that comes or leaves the house. ugh. But it's better than the stories I've heard from people who have had their identities stolen - it sometimes takes years to get things alright with credit reports, bills, etc.