DEAR MARY: About a month ago, my wallet was stolen out of my handbag while in the supermarket. I filed a police report, but they advised me it's not likely I will ever get it back — or the contents. I reported this to my bank and credit-card company. Those accounts were closed and reopened with new account numbers. But I am sick with worry because my Social Security card was in the wallet. I don't know what to do. What can I do? I so appreciate any guidance that will help give me some peace of mind. I've learned my lesson to never carry that with me. Just wish I'd been smarter sooner. — Marissa

DEAR MARISSA: I am so sorry to hear about this. But worry is the wrong response because that is totally unproductive. Worry doesn't fix anything. Before I give you the advice that will restore your peace of mind, I think it's important that all of us understand that our Social Security numbers are much different than say a credit card or debit card.

A Social Security number is the single most important piece of government-issued identification an American citizen can have. It is the most valuable piece of identification that cybercriminals can get their hands on. A valid SSN can be sold to undocumented workers or to people trying to hide their true identities.

A stolen SSN allows the thief or his or her customers to do almost everything that you or I can do with our legitimate SSNs. By assuming a real person's name and SSN, a thief can steal property and money from that person. If a thief uses your name and SSN to do criminal acts, the police are going to be looking for you, not that thief.

You can close a credit-card account if it is compromised and you did. That's good The problem is you can't close your SSN.

Even if you were to get that card back by some miracle, you must assume that your Social Security number has been stolen.

And here comes my advice: You have two choices for how to deal with this. You can take control of this situation in one of two ways:

OPTION ONE: You can join a trust and reputable identity-theft protection service like Lifelock. My family, my staff and I are all members of Lifelock. I highly recommend this service because I get to see it in action, almost daily.

Faithful readers may recall from a past column that one of my staff members, Max, has been contending with identity theft since he was a teenager. His SSN was stolen, and over the past decade, hundreds of people have attempted to us his name and SSN to apply for jobs, file for tax refunds, sign up for health insurance, apply for passports and get credit. Max's problems have not ended, and they will not end anytime soon. But Max no longer worries about it. Lifelock moves into action the moment his SSN is ever used in any kind of application.

In just the past week, Max has received three alerts from Lifelock, with information on three people trying to open credit card accounts using his SSN. Lifelock put a stop to them immediately before those thugs could even complete the first step. And that's in just one week.

OPTION TWO. You can take all the steps yourself that are necessary to manage your SSN. If you choose this option, there are several steps you'll need to take right away.

Contact one of the three major credit-reporting agencies Equifax (888-766-0008), TransUnion (800-916-8800), or Experian (888-397-3742) to place a fraud alert on your credit file. That agency will contact the other two. Renew the fraud alert every 90 days until you're satisfied the matter has been settled; it could take years.

Contact the Social Security Administration only to get a replacement card.

Tell each of the three agencies that your SSN has been stolen. They'll give you free copies of your current credit reports. Review those reports for unfamiliar accounts and unknown inquiries from companies.

Report the theft of the SSN to the IRS by calling 800-908-4490. That will prevent tax-fraud thieves from filing tax returns in your name and collecting your tax refund.

File an identity-theft report with your local police. The police report will be necessary to help clear your records and your name in the future.

Keep track of, record, report and close all fraudulent accounts by contacting both the companies holding the accounts and the credit-reporting agencies. This will keep your credit as clean as possible going forward.

If several years pass after the theft of your SSN, and the problems arising from the theft continue, you may want to apply for a new SSN. But before you do, there are several things to consider: It's not easy. In fact it is nearly impossible, that's how rare it is. Even by some miracle it does, your old SSN will never go away completely. The Administration never invalidates an SSN once it's been used.

I wish you well, Marissa. Whichever way you choose to go with this, time is of the essence. You have no time to waste. Take care of this today, without fail.

Would you like more information? Log on to EverydayCheapskate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services. Mary invites questions, comments and tips at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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