It's been all over the internet today that Playstation had a major security breach, and is telling customers that subscriber information has been stolen, possibly including credit card information. They've even taken down their network at this point.

Playstation mentions in their release, but it's sort of buried, that consumers can call the fraud alert line of any of the three major credit bureaus. Here are the numbers:

Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
Equifax: 800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
TransUnion: 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

If you're a PlayStation subscriber, call one of the above numbers, let them know to put a fraud alert on your SS#, and for a certain time period (I can't remember exactly, I think it's 6 months) they won't issue new credit under your SS# without calling you up first.

I mention this because I lost my wallet a few years back, along with my ID and credit cards, and doing this gave me a lot of peace of mind.

The PlayStation communication sort of makes it sound like it could be a big hassle:

Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your identity.

This is not a big deal.

It just means you won't instantly be able to get a credit card at the Gap or Banana Republic or Target. You don't really need that anyway, do you? And, if you're buying a car or a house, when they check your credit let them know you have a fraud alert on your account, and you'll have to approve it with the creditor. Again, not a big deal.

Any hassle you might have to deal with trying to get credit will pale in comparison to trying to dispute something later.