Seven signs you’re a victim of identity theft

You can't run and you can't hide. Data breaches are the new normal, and the problem is likely to worsen as hackers get even better at breaking and entering.

"Every company—no matter how good their security team and no matter how strong their security technology—has something valuable these thieves want, and they will get it," said Theresa Payton, CEO of the digital security company Fortalice and former White House chief information officer. "It's not a matter of will they get in. It's what happens to your data once they get in."

It's estimated that nearly 1 billion records have been compromised in the last 10 years.

"That means everyone in this country should assume that their personal information is already compromised," said Robert Sicilano, an identity theft expert at BestIDTheftCompanys.com.

About 16.6 million people became the victims in 2012, according to a report from the U.S.Justice Department. The most common types of misused information: credit card(40 percent) and bank accounts (37 percent) information. The Justice Department estimates the cost of this crime was $24.7 billion in direct and indirect losses.

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Most people find out they've been victimized when they are contacted by their financial institution. Fraud experts say we can't rely on someone else to catch the problem, though, and must take steps to protect ourselves.