Credit Monitoring

Credit monitoring was an activity that once upon a time was relegated to financing a mortgage or repairing battered credit in hopes of lifting that credit score.

Now that the credit score rules over so much more of our life and finances, it necessitates a frequent monitoring especially in light of a difficult economy that has put I.D. theft and credit scams at the forefront of modern crime.

What this monthly monitoring offers is extra protection to our money and finances.

Whether you need this protection is something each of us must weigh for ourselves.


One thing to consider, when thinking of Identity theft most think it wholly as a cyber crime and for the most part it is. Increasingly though, are many other methods that criminals use to obtain your information that are not part of the internet. Sometimes,these methods they use, are out of our control.

What Credit Monitoring Services Provide

Credit Monitoring services are provided by the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Transunion. Many banks and other credit related businesses also provide these services.

• Most will provide you with a copy of your credit report from either one or all three of the credit bureaus. Though when considering identity theft all three reports are more effective.
• Many will give you a break down of what good credit is contained in your report and the negative aspects.
• Along with that information some will give you tips about why the info is bad and what you can do about it.
• Most will help you in some way with disputing information in your report.
  
• Many times you will also retain a credit score with the credit report that you obtain (though it may not be an actual FICO score).
  
• An important feature of these services are the emails that you will receive of any significant changes to your report such as new inquiries, accounts being opened, ect.
  
• Usually there is a schedule of credit report updating. This can be an important aspect, depending on why you are using the monitoring.

Should you use credit monitoring services?

There are those of the opinion that credit monitoring is costly and not worth the effort. It is also said that it is a poor way to protect yourself from fraud.

What this website believes is that this monitoring is PART of a comprehensive plan to protect yourself.

There is much to be done in this effort and credit monitoring can be one of the weapons used to protect yourself, but by no means the only one!!!

Fraud protection is only part of the worry. There are many sides to fraud and simply many persons that are looking for any way to obtain money in what ever way they may.

To explain this thought and give a good example why I believe these services are necessary I will relate a current experience.


There is a debt collector currently trying to collect a rather large sum of money from me. This debt is from an contract for services from eleven years ago. The contract was in dispute and court action was due to be taken against this party. As settlement to avoid a class action suit, property was to be returned and the contract dissolved.

Now eleven years later they are pursuing this again. Did they think I forgot the details???

The debt is past the statute of limitations in my state and they have never tried to collect the debt til now.

Letters from this company say that the credit bureaus have had this debt reported to them. My credit monitoring services tell me this company is LYING!! Without a credit monitoring service I would need to pull my credit report. If I had previously used the free federal credit report for yearly maintenance of my credit records, then with this incidence, I would need to pay.

Other evidence that this service is needed

At Citi credit monitoring services it relates that one would be amazed at how much information is stored at the social security office and the registry of motor vehicles. I can tell you that is just a start of the list of places that store information about us all.

That same site goes on to say it's even more amazing and FRIGHTENING at how many people can gain access to this information.

It even lists 6 websites to visit to see how much info you can access about yourself.

Enough said for me!!!

There is a certain level of peace when you know the scammers in this world can't get the upper hand. Peace is something that is lacking greatly in most of our lives and that has a high value in my life. So those that say credit monitoring is too expensive.....I don't think so!!!

Another argument I read against credit monitoring is that you can self monitor for free.

???? not your credit report....at least not monthly. That first one from the federal government is free. In some states a second one can be free. In certain circumstances such as credit refusal, I.D theft, or unemployment issues and seeking employment will get you a free credit report.

We're talking monitoring here and that usually can not be done freely, though there are some that now are free.

Monitoring your own bank accounts is free and should be done regularly. Checking your credit statements monthly is free but checking your credit report is not free.

If someone gains access to your information and opens an account in your name or makes withdrawals from an account you may not know this. Consumer credit protection laws only make you liable for $50.00 for unauthorized transactions.

Knowing that your accounts have been compromised early and usually alerting your financial institution early can in most cases lead to NO liability for those unauthorized transactions.

No liability is better than a $50.00 dollar accountability in my book. If you have read much else on this website my phrase for this situation is "more of your money in your pocket".

Another protection is the security freeze.

Some would suggest this is the better protection. I say it's ANOTHER protection that should be ADDED. These services are not expensive!!Though I know everyone is trimming their budget to the bones these days!!

It should be looked at like insurance. The reason you insure something is to retain the value of that thing insured. If you do not have the resources or money to restore something valuable when it is stolen or destroyed then most people insure that item.

Some credit monitoring services ARE insurance policies. They offer reimbursement insurance if thieves are able to steal your money or your identity. Yet there should be a level of caution exercised here and not being too confident in this protection as there may be loop holes in the protection.

Many warn that ID theft can sometimes take considerable amounts of time to detect. Those with an insurance policy may think they are covered when it is discovered that the theft was initiated before the coverage period and therefore are ineligible for benefits. Reading the fine print on any policy is needed.

Bottom line the insurance is a nice feature and credit monitoring is most likely something to use, but do not become over confident in these. Keeping vigilant with your accounts and finances is what these times call for.

Which ever way you decide about credit monitoring here are some of the companies I have come across, some I have used and what I think,others with their resources that I have found.

One thing to note about these services is that they seem to be of two camps. Those that are primarily looking at your report and score with emphasis on helping you to learn how to improve your credit along with monitoring your credit reports only as a fraud deterrent alerting you to any new activity.

The other type focuses more on the actual ID protection with monitoring included on the internet, scanning for use of your name, S.S. number, address change, ect.

There is less focus on your score though many times it is provided. Many have a score of there own called an Identity threat score. This is a feature where they find how many sources on the internet your information is stored at.

The more sources they find the higher your score. I would assume a high score here is not good! These usually offer the highest rates of insurance or warranty for ID restoration services.

Credit Monitoring Services

Credit Karma

American Credit Report

Credit Keeper

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