Officials at the Department of Justice say 11 people are facing charges in the largest identity theft ring in US history.

40-million credit and debit card numbers were stolen from 9 major retailers including Barnes and Noble, TJ Maxx, Boston Market and OfficeMax, since 2002.

Local investigators say if you think your identity may have been stolen, the first step is to report it to the police.

"We'll investigate the crime as much as we can,” says Detective Sgt. Steve Meilahan of the Everest Metro Police Department.

“It may be impossible for us to do something because it didn't happen here however we are required by law to take your report and forward it to the proper police agency. If it happens overseas we can report it to the FBI." Says Sgt. Meilahan.

Sgt. Meilahan says consumers need to be vigilant about monitoring their credit report at least once a year. "With 40 million credit cards being stolen you really need to be on top of that and checking constantly."

He says if an offer appears to be “too good to be true” it probably is. He says if you need to file a police report give investigators as much information as you can.

"Bring all the credit card statements with you that you have that would definitely, help. Any forms, any emails, we can start back tracking the emails…bringing too much is better than not enough. Give it to Law Enforcement and let us decide what's too much and what isn't."

Sgt. Meilahan says you need to protect yourself and safe guard your personal information. He says you should give a copy of the police report to your bank or credit card company. He also suggests filing a complaint with the government’s Internet Crime’s Complaint Center.

Kari Zeinert is the Vice President and I-T Director at Intercity State Bank. She says thieves can steal your identity with as little as three pieces of information.

"If they have a name, address and birth date, a name, address and social security number, they can use that against you," says Zeinert.

Zeinert says your bank will never call or email you to confirm personal information. She says the bank can help you contact the credit bureaus and start the process of repairing the damage to your identity.

"Once they come to us and we have the police report we close down the account, hot card their debit card to make sure they aren't in danger of more transactions."

For more information on the Federal Investigation click on the link to the Department of Justice’s Website.

If you’d like to file a complaint with the government’s Internet Crime’s Complaint Center, click on the link below.