On July 16, 2001 while walking up Mt. Woodson my car was broken into and my ID was stolen.

According to the Sheriff this is a fairly common occurrence.

Things I learned from this experience are:

bullet File a police report.  Even though you will cancel all of your credit cards, there is a chance that someday the police will pick up a person who happens to have your credit cards in their possession.  Being in possession of stolen property assists in prosecuting criminals.
bullet Cancel your credit cards.  We all know this one, but until you have to remember which cards you had in your wallet you realize that you should write all of the cards and numbers down someplace.  The companies will need this information as will law enforcement.
bullet Call the three credit reporting companies.  You can put a "fraud alert" on your name and social security number which will cause you to be notified if anybody seeks to use either in getting credit.
These are:  Equifax 1-800-525-6285
                    Experian 1-800-301-7195
                    Trans Union 1-800-680-7289
They actually send you a copy of their credit report on you when you report a fraud.
bullet The Social Security Administration has a fraud number also at 1-800-269-0271
bullet Almost all of the companies/agencies have an option on their automated answering routines to report a stolen card.