Identity theft happens. It's an unfortunate fact of modern life. But there are certain steps you can take to help keep your personal information from falling into the wrong hands.

Every day, you do things to protect what's most important to you. And you know what? You do them almost automatically. Routine things like looking both ways before you cross, brushing your teeth, and buckling your seat belt.

Another routine to get into is keeping tabs on your identity and personal information. Here are five easy ways you can do it.

Read your credit card and bank statements carefully and often.

Know your payment due dates.

If a bill doesn't show up when you expect it, look into it.

Read the statements from your health insurance plan.

Make sure the claims paid match the care you got.

Shred any documents with personal and financial information.

Review each of your three credit reports at least once a year. It's easy, and it's free.

And before you know it, protecting your personal information can be as routine as locking your doors at night.

For more tips and tools on dealing with identity theft, visit ftc.gov/idtheft. That's ftc.gov/idtheft.