Who is Right for Credit Monitoring?

If you have been following the other articles in this topic, you might get the impression that there is no good reason to enroll in credit monitoring. There are, however, a few cases where you might consider a credit monitoring service.

If you decide credit monitoring is for you, Knowzy can help you choose a service. We offer a detailed comparison chart of the credit monitoring services offered by the three credit bureaus.

• Need Constant Access to Your Credit Reports and Scores

  There are free and low cost alternatives to credit monitoring and moral reasons to object to it. However, there are situations where you frequently need to access to your credit report and FICO score.

  Maybe your coming out of debt are using your credit score as a way to gauge your progress. Maybe you are worried about identity theft but consider a security freeze too drastic.

  If you need access to your credit report and/or score once a month or more, credit monitoring is an economical way to buy them in bulk.

   

• Someone Buys It for You

  When a company or government organization inadvertently reveals your personal information, including your Social Security number, often they will offer a year or two of free credit monitoring. Since you are not paying for it and you are at risk of identity theft, it is a good idea to accept their offer.

  This exact situation happened famously in a case involving ChoicePoint where, due to a fairly obvious security flaw in their web site, 145,000 people had their complete credit histories stolen. ChoicePoint offered a year of free credit monitoring and three free credit reports.

   

• Bad Case of Identity Theft

  If someone just stole your credit card and is running up charges, this is probably not enough to enroll in a credit monitoring service. Just cancel the card and pull your credit report (for free) a couple of times over the next few months for reassurance.

  On the other hand, if someone has your Social Security number and is opening new lines of credit in your name, you have a big problem. Even in this case, you have free and quite effective options to prevent further damage to your credit. But considering the time and expense you will need to spend to fix this problem, a year of credit monitoring may seem like small potatoes.

  Among your free options: You can place a fraud alert on your credit report. You should certainly put a security freeze on your reports if you live in a state where this is an option. You can also add a personal statement to your credit report stating that you have been a victim of identity theft. Also, depending on the state you live, you are likely to have fairly regular access to your credit report if you have been a victim of identity theft.

   

• Free Trial

  Nearly all credit monitoring services offer a 30 day free trial during which credit reports and credit scores are free. It does take vigilance to avoid getting charged for your trial:

  • Expect a charge on your credit card if you fail to cancel before the trial period ends
  • Avoid FreeCreditReport.com. This company may "misplace" your cancellation request. We hear this complaint so much that we created a guide to ensuring this service stays canceled.
  • Always cancel in person over the phone. Check your credit card statement the month after you cancel.

   

• Extremely Wealthy

  If you are so rich that you would never miss $50 - $180 per year, your bookkeeper or accountant might find some value in having real-time updates to your credit report.

   

If you think credit monitoring is for you, see our comparison of credit monitoring services.

 

 

 

 

Originally Published:  Sunday, August 13, 2006

Last Updated:  Thursday, December 06, 2007