NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Following the break-in and theft of computers at the Metro Election office, residents are asking what they can do protect themselves from identity thieves.

The Metro Election Commission said that now that Social Security numbers are in the wrong hands, registered voters in Davidson County should check their credit report.

However, residents won't find any suspicious activity on their report since it takes weeks, and sometimes months, for information to make its way onto the credit report.

Even so, the public is advised to go ahead and get a free credit report, look it over and then check it again every 90 days.

If anything suspicious turns up, the voter should be able to spot it right away.

Credit experts also recommend putting a fraud alert on their credit report.

To do that, simply call the credit bureaus and ask for it. This is a free service and good for 90 days.

Once someone initiates a fraud alert, the credit bureaus will contact the person if anyone tries to open a line of credit in their name.

The fraud alert has to be re-initiated every 90 days.

One more thing that the public might want to consider is identity theft insurance. Identity thieves don't just use people's names to get credit but they can also get a job, a driver's license and all kinds of benefits they're not actually eligible for.

Also, if the thief uses someone else's identity to commit a crime, the innocent person will get a criminal record.

It takes months, sometimes years, and a whole lot of money to get a good name back from identity thieves.

Identity theft insurance covers that cost. The down side is that all of this can be costly.

By law, everyone is entitled to one free credit report each year.

After this, consumers have to pay to check it, and it could cost up to $20 a report.

That identity theft insurance can cost up to $100 a year.

Those who want that protection should sign up as soon as possible. Once consumers start to see suspicious activity on their credit report, they may not qualify for it.

City leaders have not said if they plan to help with the cost of monitoring your credit.