Why is Credit Monitoring Important?
According to a 2009 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, identity theft has been the top consumer complaint for nine years in a row. Arizona is the state with the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft complaints, followed by California and Florida. Some reports estimate that identity theft happens every 3.5 seconds and impacted about 10 million consumers in 2008.
No Cost Do It Yourself Credit Monitoring
How can you protect yourself? There are several strategies. Consumers are entitled by law to request a free copy of their credit report annually. One way to get the most of this free service is to pull one of your three free credit reports every four months. This way you can inspect your credit report every 120 days instead of looking at all three of your credit reports once per year. There is no cost to you to do this. However, the growth of Identity Theft gives many consumers reason to monitor their credit more frequently.
Subscription Based Real Time Credit Monitoring
To get instant notification when something changes on your credit report, a convenient way is to subscribe to a credit monitoring service. For a low monthly fee consumers can receive email alerts whenever something changes on their credit report. Monthly subscription rates can range from $4.95 - $14.95 per month. Be cautious of services which charge more than that and make sure you understand what additional value they are providing to justify the higher price point.
Several Service Providers To Compare
There are several credit monitoring services to choose from. For example, your bank may offer this service. You can also contact one of the three major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) to set-up credit monitoring service. Some other examples of credit monitoring services include Credit.com, ABCFreeCreditScore, FreeCreditReports360 and ClickMyCredit.
How To Choose A Credit Monitoring Service
Like anything else, be a smart consumer and take the time to compare the features and pricing of at least three services before choosing one. One feature that you should look for in a credit monitoring plan is text alerts. This way, when you are out shopping, traveling, etc., you can still be instantly notified of a change in your credit profile, directly to your mobile phone. Sometimes the difference between knowing about a change in minutes rather than hours or days (when you get a chance to check email) can save you a lot of hassle.
About the Author:
Nathan Randall is editor of the Daily Dollar Newsletter which provides consumers with free daily advice on money matters and provides coupons and discount codes at Daily Dollar Coupons.
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