Credit Monitoring - How does it protect you from identity theft and what service does it really offer? We have been asked over the past 5 years if Credit Monitoring is worth having and if we can provide this service. Credit Monitoring is a huge business and with scores being so important it will continue to grow. How many times have you seen promotional offers for the opportunity to get free monitoring of your credit profile? It is so confusing for most to even understand their credit reports let alone what the monitoring services provide and how they can help. The information given by these services is difficult to decipher and can sometimes do more to confuse and scare consumers than help them.
I have been studying these services and learning about them for many years now. The one question I have is how can finding out you are a victim of identity theft or credit card fraud protect you? Once you know you are a victim it is already too late. When you begin to see signs of identity theft on your credit report the damage has already been done. Logically expecting Credit Monitoring to protect you from identity theft would be like studying for an exam after you fail. Identity theft is a process and the last result of it is seeing accounts on your credit report that do not belong to you. These accounts are usually in default with late payments or have gone to the point of collection or charge off.
When lenders report to the credit agencies, they are not obligated to report to all 3 of the national credit reporting agencies. For this reason, it would be a good idea to get a copy of your report from each reporting agency. This will allow you see what information is being reported to each agency, and spot problems or false information that only one agency is reporting about.
There are many packages available and most will offer a combined 3 bureau credit report. This can be a great convenience since the format of the reports from each agency is different. The combined 3 bureau report will be in the same format and will make it easier to spot the differences between each report. Once you have established great credit you will most likely want to do everything you can to keep it that way. For this reason, monitoring your scores is vital in maintaining that great credit you worked so hard for. All of the monitoring services that I have reviewed or personally used have email alerts that will let you know about major changes in your report or score.
If you detect or are alerted of major changes, this could be an indication of Identity Theft. Monitoring for changes is one of the best ways to alert you of the possibility of stolen identity. In addition to alerts, most monitoring services offer Identity Theft insurance that typically will reimburse you between $20,000 and $25,000 in damages.
Many services offer you the ability to see your report from all 3 credit bureaus, check and monitor your scores and setup email alerts to alert you of major changes happening to your report or score. You can also get Identity Theft insurance in the event you are the victim of stolen identity.
I have been studying these services and learning about them for many years now. The one question I have is how can finding out you are a victim of identity theft or credit card fraud protect you? Once you know you are a victim it is already too late. When you begin to see signs of identity theft on your credit report the damage has already been done. Logically expecting Credit Monitoring to protect you from identity theft would be like studying for an exam after you fail. Identity theft is a process and the last result of it is seeing accounts on your credit report that do not belong to you. These accounts are usually in default with late payments or have gone to the point of collection or charge off.
When lenders report to the credit agencies, they are not obligated to report to all 3 of the national credit reporting agencies. For this reason, it would be a good idea to get a copy of your report from each reporting agency. This will allow you see what information is being reported to each agency, and spot problems or false information that only one agency is reporting about.
There are many packages available and most will offer a combined 3 bureau credit report. This can be a great convenience since the format of the reports from each agency is different. The combined 3 bureau report will be in the same format and will make it easier to spot the differences between each report. Once you have established great credit you will most likely want to do everything you can to keep it that way. For this reason, monitoring your scores is vital in maintaining that great credit you worked so hard for. All of the monitoring services that I have reviewed or personally used have email alerts that will let you know about major changes in your report or score.
If you detect or are alerted of major changes, this could be an indication of Identity Theft. Monitoring for changes is one of the best ways to alert you of the possibility of stolen identity. In addition to alerts, most monitoring services offer Identity Theft insurance that typically will reimburse you between $20,000 and $25,000 in damages.
Many services offer you the ability to see your report from all 3 credit bureaus, check and monitor your scores and setup email alerts to alert you of major changes happening to your report or score. You can also get Identity Theft insurance in the event you are the victim of stolen identity.
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Frank Miller has a Debt Consolidation Blog & Finance, these are some of the articles: House Passes Bill To Audit The Federal Reserve You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.
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