Three men have been indicted for what seems to be the largest data breach and identity theft case ever prosecuted.

More than 130 million credit and debit card numbers were compromised by the hackers, according to Reuters.

It's probably a good idea to check your records to ensure you haven't been robbed of your hard-earned money.

Of the men indicted, one (Albert Gonzalez) was reportedly already in jail for prior hacking-related charges.

Sources indicate that the other two men who were indicted were also responsible for five serious data breaches from 2006 to 2008.

With this crime in the news, it's probably good to go over what identity theft is and how you can protect your assets.

Identity Theft: What the Criminals Do

Identity theft can be a devastating crime for its victims, leaving their credit ruined and causing them to lose serious amounts of money and, in some extreme cases, filing bankruptcy.

So how does this crime work?

• Individual identity theft: When a thief steals the information of an individual or a single company, he or she can use it to make everyday transactions, take cash out of the bank, take out loans or get a job (particularly if the person is not a U.S. citizen). Victims of individual identity theft generally have great difficulty setting their affairs in order after they’ve been targeted.
• Group identity theft: When hackers target an entire database of personal information, the potential for damage is much greater. In this particular case, the hackers apparently planned to sell the personal information they stole from corporate databases to other criminals.

This particular incident involved data breaches at the card processor Heartland Payment Systems and the retail chains 7-Eleven and Hannaford Brothers, Inc.

Preventing Identity Theft

Information crimes have risen with the popularity of computers and the Internet – but so have protections against them.

For example, the security code on the back of your credit cards can prevent fraudsters from using your info by creating a clay imprint copy of your credit card number (at the checkout, say).

Here are some actions you can take to keep you and your personal information safe:

• Shred your sensitive mail. While some large-scale identity crimes occur in the digital realm, individual identity theft still results from thieves sifting through sensitive documents in the trash.
• Guard your numbers like gold: Don’t give out your SSN or credit card numbers unless you’re sure you have to. Whenever you’re asked to give out your SSN, demand an explanation of why it’s needed.
• Check your credit report: Regular checks of your credit report (at www.annualcreditreport.com) will reveal whether anyone has been using your information besides you. Then you can take steps to stop the criminals.

Tags: filing bankruptcy, Identity Theft