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It's National Protect Your Identity Week, so each day we'll post an educational article with tips on how to better understand identity theft and how to reduce your risk of it occurring.

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information, such as your name, SSN or credit card number, without permission to commit fraud or other crimes. Through the use of phishing, stealing, skimming, dumpster diving and other methods, identity thieves can obtain personal information and wreck havoc to an individual's name and credit history.

While, there is no guarantee that we'll ever be completely safe from the risk of identity theft, using strong passwords, declining inquiries for personal information and reviewing our credit reports on a regular basis can help reduce it. The following tips may also help prevent it:

• Shred financial documents and paperwork with personal information before discarding of it, including but not limited to credit card statements, credit and debit card receipts, credit card offers, cancelled credit cards, tax returns, bank statements, cancelled checks and loan applications
• Protect your SSN by not carrying it in your wallet or writing it on your check
• Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or online unless you know whom you are dealing with 
• Never give your ATM card and PIN to anyone, for any reason 
• Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails and posts to social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn
• Don't use obvious or the same password for every account 
• Store your personal information in a secure place
• Limit the amount of IDs and credit card you carry and keep copies of those you do carry in a safe place should they get lost or stolen
• Report lost and stolen credit cards immediately
• Review monthly financial statements thoroughly to make sure they are correct and report any suspicious items
• Don't mail bills or sensitive information from your home mailbox and if there is an unexplained interruption in mail service, contact your local post office 
• Order a free copy of your credit report once a year from www.annualcreditreport.com, the only website authorized by the U.S. government to provide reports from the three major bureaus
• Password protect your mobile phone to protect personal information

At Alliant, we're committed to protecting your financial privacy. We use advanced security to safeguard our members' personal information by restricting access and training employees in the importance of confidentiality and member privacy by maintaining physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations and leading industry practices.

Learn more about National Protect Your Identity Week.

You may also be interested in:

• Identify Identity Theft Threats
• Reduce The Risk Of Identity Theft
• Detecting & Recovering From Identity Theft

Alliant Credit Union will never solicit you for personal information, such as account number, credit/debit card numbers, passwords or PINs. Contact us immediately if you think unauthorized access or fraud has occurred in connection with your Alliant Credit Union accounts at 800-328-1935 (24/7). To learn more about Alliant's security and to stay updated on fraud alerts, visit Security.

Sources: FTC.gov, CUNA