Identity theft has gotten out of control and if you have any sort of on-line presence you need to be covering your 6 at all cost. The article in Business Week brings the point home.
I want to give you some resources where you can check your credit to insure you are not being duped. Equifax has a credit watch subscription program that I have used in the past. Experian offers a combined report from the 3 credit reporting bureaus. A slew of companies offer services but the main thing you want is e-mail or snail mail alert when new credit is opened and also when a company request a credit check. This will give you a hint if someone has tried to buy something but may have gotten turned down. Credit card companies will regularly request credit history to fill your mailboxes full of credit card offers.
Finally protect your personal information it is valuable to you and also to others.