Citibank's Crime and Consequences

Citibank's Crime and Consequences

JEOPARDY! time: shredding your mail, only giving out your personal information to trusted and reputable sources, canceling cards in the event that you lose or have your wallet stolen from you. If you immediately thought "what are ways to prevent identity theft," you are correct. Even if you go through all the right motions to keep your personal information for your use only, once you have entrusted an entity with your Social Security number and other bits and pieces, you have to factor in their potential unreliability.
In January 2010, Citibank made a "processing earror," as they called it, where they accidentally released 600,000 Social Security numbers belonging to their account holders. The nine digits were not explicitly stated as Social Security numbers (they were included in a string of numbers and letters that appeared to be a mail routing number), but they were released nonetheless. Citibank owned up to their mistake and mailed all of the customers whose information was leaked out, apologizing and offering a free 180-day credit monitoring service to ensure that they would not be victims of identity theft.
This incident highlights two key things about credit and identity security. You must never be complacent about the safety of your identity; even if you have done all you can to keep your private information private, a mistake or attack on an institution that uses your information for legitimate uses can expose you to the threat of identity theft. It is more important than ever to guard your information closely.
The other major topic this flub has resurrected is the usefulness of credit monitoring tools. Whenever you are unsure about the security of your information, particularly if you have been affected by Citibank's accidental actions or something similar, a credit monitoring service may be right for you. Ordering your credit report annually is generally all you need to do if you are careful with your information, but sometimes circumstances may make you think about extra measures you can take. You can have a freeze put on the opening of new credit lines without a face-to-face meeting proving your identity and see if you can track any claims that you catch.
Put in this situation, would you take advantage of the credit monitoring? If you wouldn't, what steps would you take to make sure your information won't be misused?