Perhaps as a warning to those id theft companies that broadcast their Social Security numbers as a way to prove how good their own security is, please take a humbling lesson from one of Great Britain’s best known auto journalists.

Jeremy Clarkson, host of Britain’s most popular TV show on everything cars, was recently so incensed by the uproar over a government employee losing the personal data of more than 25 million citizens, he published his bank account number and sort code in one of his newspaper columns and then dared anyone to use that information to steal his money or his identity.

He even offered to help his readers find his home address. His message was simple – identity theft is not such a big deal and consumers should just chill. "All you'll be able to do with them is put money into my account. Not take it out,” he wrote in his column. “Honestly, I've never known such a palaver about nothing,"

Well, it didn’t take long for humility to trump chill, as Mr. Clarkson discovered that someone had quickly and easily accessed his bank account and transferred nearly $700 to a charity. Seems like the hacker only meant to expose Mr. Clarkson’s Duh! Moment but the attacker could have easily done much more harm.