About credit monitoring

Catching a thief can be a tricky business. Credit monitoring can make the process much easier. You simply sign up with a credit monitoring company to have them watch your credit report for any activity or anything that seems suspicious. When something odd happens that may be fraudulent, they will notify you.

If you are concerned that your identity has been stolen, you can have a statement added on to your credit report notifying potential creditors of that fact. It just provides an added step to keep someone from stealing your good credit.

Some companies offer a free trial to their credit monitoring product. If you don’t wish to keep the service (for a monthly fee) after the trial period, you usually have to cancel the membership within a specified window of time.

Should I use a credit monitoring service?

Obviously, signing up with a credit monitoring service is optional. Some people feel it is unnecessary to sign up with a credit monitoring service, while others feel that it is an extrememly important safeguard.

If you have been a past victim of identity theft or fraud you may actually prefer to sign up with a service. You can (and should) take precautions to keep yourself from being a victim like shredding credit offers as well as keeping your social security number and other personal information from getting into the wrong hands.

However, even if you do everything possible to keep from letting your information out it can still happen by no fault of your own. Banks, stores, and other financial institutions have fallen victim to thieves who have acquired credit card numbers or other personal information.

Credit monitoring is just one step you can put in place to catch identity theft or credit fraud attempt early. With credit monitoring, you will be notified when there is activity on your credit file, so you can act quickly in the event of wrongdoing.

About free credit report monitoring

Some companies offer free credit report monitoring on a trial basis for customers. If you have never tried credit monitoring, this may be a good way to see what it can do for you.

It can make watching for fraud a much easier process and can also allow you to be on top of your credit situation at all times.

The hope is that you will find this to be very useful and then continue the service after they start charging you a monthly fee.

If you do sign up for a free trial offered by a credit monitoring service, be sure to know the terms and conditions of the offer. You will usually need to cancel your free trial within a specified window of time in order to avoid being automatically enrolled for a monthly fee.

Free credit reports are a reality

Once each year, you can request a free copy of your credit report. This is a guaranteed right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This act states that each consumer has the right to be able to view the information that is provided on his or her credit report. Free credit reports are available online at AnnualCreditReport.com.

This free yearly credit report is an excellent way for you to monitor your credit report for errors or fraud. It is also a great way for you to keep track of your overall credit picture to determine if you need to make any improvements. Keep in mind, though, that these free credit reports do not include free credit scores.

In addition, if you apply for credit and are denied, the creditor must provide you with the reasons and the name of the credit bureau that supplied the information that they used in making the credit granting decision. You then also have the right to request a free copy of your credit report.

Notify the credit reporting agencies

To ensure that your information is always correct, you should get copies of your credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies. The three do not work together or share information so it is possible that something was sent to one but not the other two.

This is why it is so important for you to review each one. When you do find a problem, work with the credit bureau to correct it.

You can start by filing a claim with the credit bureau to notify them of the error. They will then investigate the claim with the creditor. When they discover that an item needs to be corrected, they will notify you and the other credit reporting agencies to make the change.

On the other hand, when it is determined that no error occurred, you will be notified of that fact and informed that the item will remain.

Credit bureau contact information

• Equifax: 1-800-685-1111
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion: 1-800-888-4213

About 3-in-1 credit reports

Thanks to the Internet, you can instantly access your entire credit history through a 3-in-1 credit report. A 3-in-1 credit report shows the credit report information from all three credit report bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) but only requires you to purchase it through one site.

Obtaining a 3-in-1 credit report can be a good idea for anyone in any credit situation, as it allows you to check all three bureaus for inaccuracies within your credit history at the same time.

You can also ensure that all information, including personal details such as addresses and employment information, is being reported correctly and equally to each bureau.

A potential creditor may pull all three at the same time to determine if you qualify to borrow from them, so it is a good idea to make sure all three are correct and complete.

About credit score monitoring

Does your credit score need to be monitored? Possibly, especially if you are concerned about being able to qualify for a loan or line of credit, or a specific (low) rate on a loan or line of credit, in the future.

Through some credit monitoring companies you may be able to view your score each month and also receive tips on how to maintain your credit and/or how to achieve a healthy credit score.

This can be helpful to anyone, regardless of his or her credit rating. And those who in the position of trying to improve their credit score can watch their score each month and even take steps to help their individual situation.

Also, with credit monitoring of your credit scores you can stay on top of any potenital problems or changes to keep your credit rating in as good of shape as possible. Consistent monitoring can help you notice errors and take steps to correct those.

Monitor your credit report with all three credit bureaus

Worried about fraud or identity theft? You may want to keep a close eye on your credit report. This can easily be accomplished by signing up with a three-bureau credit monitoring service.

Information is not shared between the three major credit reporting agencies, so it is possible that something will show up on one agency report but not all three.

This is why it can be important to monitor your credit as seen by all three bureaus. This is something that can be accomplished by going to one site and requesting copies of all three credit reports. There is no need to go to each individual credit reporting agencies to get each credit report.

About identity theft protection

Don’t be a victim – identity theft can happen to anyone. One way you can prevent it or catch it early is with identity theft monitoring. This is especially useful in situations where you know your information has been compromised.

In most cases it is OK to just check your credit report once or twice a year to check for unusual activity or incorrect information.

However, if you think that your identity may have been stolen or that the details of your personal information may have been compromised, you can monitor your financial profile by signing up with an identity theft protection service.

Identity theft can become a hassle to straighten out since it is often not caught until months or even years have passed. You can reduce the headaches you will have to deal with by staying on top of the situation.

Fraud alerts explained

When your personal financial information is compromised you might place a fraud alert or credit hold on your credit report. You can place a fraud alert on your credit by contacting each of the three credit bureaus.

For example, if a company has access to your social security number and encounters a security breach, that company may send letters out to all the customers who were potentially affected and suggest that all customers place fraud alerts on their credit profiles.

A fraud alert may protect you from potential unauthorized use of your personal information to open credit lines, but you should know that a fraud alert can also stop you from getting approved for an instant online credit card approval or any other form of instant credit.

This means, for example, that you cannot expect to fill out an application for a department store credit card and receive it right then because further precautions must legally be taken by the credit issuer.

You will probably be told by the lender that your application cannot be processed immediately, and then you will later receive a phone call from a fraud protection department verifying that you were the person initiating the application. These types of safeguards will be in place until your fraud alert or credit hold expires.