TOPIC: Millions of Identities Stolen Every Month

Barely a month passes anymore without news of another breach of personal data, stoking fears that a thief might open credit cards in your name, run up bills and ruin your credit rating.

That's a lot bigger problem than the garden-variety theft of a single credit card.

The year started with a disclosure by TJX, parent company of retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, of the theft of credit card data on 45.7 million customers. Since then, everybody from the Veterans Affairs Department to the University of California, Davis, have reported breaches of personal data.