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Credit Monitoring is a Rip Off!

Credit Monitoring is a Rip Off!

You don't need an expensive service to keep track of your credit rating. Identity theft can be prevented by common sense and excercising your rights as a US citizen.

Learn the truth about credit monitoring and free alternatives.

Free, Do It Yourself Credit Monitoring

Don't pay a hundred dollars a year or more for something you have free access to!

Use your federally mandated free credit reports wisely and you can monitor your own credit. Free.

What is Wrong with Credit Monitoring?

These services are expensive and overkill for most people's needs. There are free alternatives that are adequate.

The credit agencies behind these services use deceptive practices and overhype the identity theft threat.

Beyond all of this, you should not need to pay credit bureaus "protection" to make sure they are not bad mouthing you to your business partners.

Get to Know Knowzy

At Knowzy, we're on your side! We want to earn your trust and respect so that you will make us your first choice when there's something you need to know.

The principles that guide Knowzy are: Accuracy, relevance, depth, responsiveness, and usability.

Free Wireless at Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box is keeping a secret: Many of its restaurants are offering free wireless Internet.

Is there one near you? How do you sign on? What limitations apply to Jack in the Box's generous offer?

Knowzy has all the details despite Jack in the Box's silence.

Personal Finance > The World of Credit > Credit Monitoring is a Rip Off!

Comparison Charts

Comparison of Credit Monitoring Services

Below is a list of all of the credit monitoring services offered by the three US credit agencies. If you decide credit monitoring is right for your situation, this guide will help you find the service that best fits your needs.

The information in these charts was difficult to compile. Many important details about these services are buried in fine print or took phone calls to determine.

The first column in the chart is the most important. It shows how many of the three credit bureaus the service monitors. It just makes sense to monitor all of the bureaus that are monitoring you!

Experian's TripleAdvantage is both the most famous and the most infamous credit monitoring service. The free credit reports hawked by the charming musical trio at FreeCreditReport.Com automatically enroll its users in TripleAdvantage; surprising many who skip the fine print.

Before we let you go, we feel it our duty to let you know about free and low cost alternatives to credit monitoring.

										Legend
Product Name	B	A	R	S	I	F	M	T	P	Y
TripleAlert	3	7	0	0	10/0	D	1	N/A	$4.95	$59.40
Credit Manager	1	7	1	1	N/A	D	0	30	$11.95	$143.40
CreditCheck	1	7	1	1	N/A	D	0	30	$11.95	$143.40
CreditCheck Total³	3	7	3	3	25/0	D	.75	7	$19.95	$359.40
TripleAdvantage^*	3	7	1	1	50/0	D	.75	7	$14.95	$179.40
Family Secure¹	1	7	1	1	2,000/0	D	0	N/A	$19.95	$239.40
CreditInsure²	1	4	1	1	N/A	W	4	N/A	$14.95	$99
¹ Family Secure monitors two adults and all children in one family. Children's credit reports not available online. ² CreditInsure is business credit report monitoring. Monitor the credit file of your own business or any other business. ³ Monitors all three credit scores. Only this service and TransUnions's 3 Bureau Credit Monitoring offer all three scores.

										Legend
Product Name	B	A	R	S	I	F	M	T	P	Y
TransUnion Credit Monitoring	1	8	1	1	25/0	D	1	N/A	$11.95	$143.40
3 Bureau Credit Monitoring^{1 *}	3	8	3	3	25/0	D	1	N/A	$14.95	$179.40
¹ Monitors all three credit scores. Only this service and Experian's CreditCheck Total offer all three scores.

										Legend
Product Name	B	A	R	S	I	F	M	T	P	Y
Credit Watch Gold	1	8	1	0	25/0	D	1	N/A	$9.95	$119.40
Credit Watch Gold with 3-in-1 Monitoring^*	3	8	1¹	0	1,000/0	D	0	30	$14.95	$179.40
ID Patrol²	3	8	1¹	0	1,000/0	D	1	N/A	$16.95	$203.40
Score Watch	1	1	0	1	N/A	D	1	N/A	$9.95	$119.40
¹ Free credit reports from Equifax, TransUnion and Experian upon sign up. Unlimited access to Equifax report thereafter. ² Also includes: Free freezing and unfreezing of your Equifax credit report. Equifax monitors "underground" Internet sites for your SSN and up to 10 credit cards.

Figures Last Verified: June 2, 2009

Legend
B	Number of credit bureaus this service monitors. A 1 indicates that only that agency's credit report is monitored. 3 indicates that all three U.S. credit bureaus are monitored.
A	Number of alert types the service generates. These include new accounts, changes of address, new public records and more.
R	Number of agency's credit reports that you have access to. Some services monitor changes to the reports but don't allow you to see the actual credit report. Some services monitor all three reports but only allow you to see one agency's credit report.
S	Number of agency's credit scores that you have access to. Many credit monitoring services don't allow you to see your score at all. Only Experian's CreditCheck Total and TransUnion's 3-in-1 service allows you to see all three credit scores.
I	Identity Theft Insurance coverage. If this policy is offered, the total amount covered in thousands and the deductible are shown.
F	Monitoring frequency shows how often your credit reports are scanned for changes. This is D for daily and W for weekly.
M	Minimum number of months you must subscribe to the service before canceling. A 0 indicates a 30 day free trial period. A 1 means you must pay for at least one month; no free trial. Only Experian's CreditInsure requires more than one month's commitment.
T	Trial period, in day. Many credit monitoring services have a free trial period. If you cancel the service before free trial ends, you will not be charged.
P	Price per month.
Y	Price per year. Experian's CreditInsure offer yearly rates for credit monitoring at a discount. For all others, this is simply the monthly rate times 12.