Good old Jeremy Clarkson got a shock last week when fraudsters used the banking details he had printed in his Sunday Times column to steal £500 from his account. Clarkson, who is of course a man you would never want to see with egg on his face, had printed the details in an attempt to prove that the government losing the personal details of 25 million people was no big deal.

“I argued we should all calm down because the details in question are to be found on every cheque we hand out every day to every Tom, Dick and cash and carry,” wrote Clarkson in his latest column. “To hammer the point home I even printed my own bank account number and sort code.

“And guess what? I opened my bank statement this morning to find out that someone has set up a direct debit which automatically takes £500 from my account. The bank cannot find out who did this because of the Data Protection Act and they cannot stop it from happening again. I was wrong and I have been punished for my mistake.”

The point of writing all this is not because it is extremely funny, although it is. It is to highlight that you do not need a pig-headed refusal to accept that fraudsters may steal your details for it to happen. Identity theft, where fraudsters steal consumers' personal details to apply for credit cards, withdraw cash or make purchases - is a growing problem. Last year there were about 80,000 reported cases in the UK, and that figure is expected to rise in 2008.

So how do you protect your personal details? Obviously not giving them to anyone in the government would be a good start, although it is probably a bit late for that. Here are some easy practical tips that will not force you into a hermit like existence away from the eyes of big, absent-minded, brother:

•  Shred stuff. Thieves will go through your bins to steal credit card statements, bills, and bank slips to take your personal details. If you shred everything, it will not be an issue.

•  Never respond to unsolicited emails or phone calls from banks. Genuine bank employees will not ask you for personal details.

•  Do not tell anyone your PIN. It sounds obvious but this is the easiest way to fall victim to credit card scams. Telling other people your PIN makes you ineligible for bank refunds and increases the risk of you needing a refund in the first place.

•  Make sure you cover up your PIN when inputting it in shops and at cash points. The advent of chip and pin means we use our PINs more and more, but it is amazing how many people forget to cover them properly.

•  Install anti-spyware on your computer, and password protect all data sensitive files. Change your passwords regularly.