My Credit Card Company Is Offering A Credit Monitoring Service: Is This Service Worth It?
Several companies have sprung up that promise to help protect you against identity theft. How do they do this? By monitoring your credit. An alert is sent to you when changes to your credit occur such as when a new account is opened or a new address associated with you is logged with a credit reporting company. Some credit monitoring services are independent companies and some are operated by credit reporting agencies such as Trans Union and Experian.
While there are advantages to using these services, there are some problems with them such as:
1) If you receive a Notification from a monitoring company, your information may have already been used illegally by someone who has opened up a new credit account with your stolen identity.
2) The monitoring services cannot catch certain forms of identity theft that don’t access your credit report such as a person using a stolen identity to a) obtain a Payday advance loan, b) apply for a job; or c) apply for a driver’s license.
3) Most of what these services offer, you can do yourself. You can file fraud reports and place fraud alerts and credit freezes on your credit files with credit reporting companies.
Many people believe that credit monitoring activities will make them completely secure against identity theft. That simply isn’t true. However, credit monitoring can be an important piece of your protection package. Some other things you can do include:
- Leave important documents in a safe place at home.
- Only carry the credit cards or other cards you plan on using that day (do not carry your Social Security Card).
- Properly destroy old credit cards, checks and unneeded receipts
- Shop only on secure Web site with companies you trust.
- Check your bank and credit card statements monthly for any suspicious activity.
- Personally check your credit report at least once a year.
Since the cost of a monitoring service usually runs $10 to $15 a month, it may be worth it for the peace of mind in knowing that you are purchasing a little added insurance to avoid being the next victim of identity theft.
