The best way to protect yourself from Identity Theft is to freeze your credit.  Credit must be frozen with all 3 credit reporting agencies in order to be effective.

If your credit is frozen, you can still use existing credit cards and lines of credit but new accounts won’t be opened unless your credit is “thawed”.

A PIN will be set up when your credit is frozen and will be required to thaw or permanently remove the credit freeze.  Be sure to keep this PIN in a safe place where it can be accessed when needed.

The links and cost for placing credit freezes with all three credit reporting agencies is below

TransUnion  $7.50 per person

Equifax   free

Experian   $7.50 per person