National Protect Your Identity Week 2010 (PYIW) will take place from October 17 to 23. During the event, Money Management International (MMI), a credit counseling agency, will be hosting two events to promote secure identity practices.

PYIM aims to educate citizens about the importance of protecting your identity. According to MMI, the best way to protect yourself from falling victim to identity theft is to practice preventative strategies that will safeguard your personal information.

The credit counseling agency will host two free webinars that will discuss how to protect your identity. The online events will take place on October 18 and 20, and will discuss how to prevent identity theft and what actions to take if you do find your personal information has been compromised.

There will be a series of local shredding events hosted by MMI to teach citizens how to properly dispose of personal paperwork.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, there are approximately 9 million cases of identity theft in the U.S. every year. One of the most effective ways to protect yourself from online criminals is to use a secure payment service when shopping online.