Are Credit Monitoring Services Worth It?
There is a lot of debate surrounding credit monitoring services. After the recent lawsuit against LifeLock, a well-known credit monitoring service, many consumers are beginning to question why they bother with them to begin with.
What is a Credit Monitoring Service?
A credit monitoring service is a professional company that monitors a consumers credit reports daily, weekly or monthly for any activity. For a stipulated monthly fee, consumers can get automatic alerts of any changes, new accounts, etc. that are posted to their credit reports. Some credit monitoring services will automatically place a fraud alert on a consumers credit report upon signing up with their services, but most do not. It is important to note that a credit monitoring services does not prevent identity theft. Identity theft would have already occurred in order for it to show up on a consumer’s credit report; therefore they prevent further identity theft from occurring by notifying a consumer early enough of fraudulent signs.
Every credit monitoring service varies. Some will monitor just one credit report, while others will monitor all three at the same time. It is usually recommended that if you are going to sign up with a credit monitoring service, you have one that monitors all three reports at the same time.
Things to Consider
If you do not have time to monitor all three credit reports yourself, then you may want to consider a credit monitoring service. Though fees can range anywhere from $5 to $35 per month, every service varies on what they offer for their service fee. Some will monitor all three credit reports with instant notification of changes, while others can only monitor one credit report with weekly email notifications. Before signing up with a credit monitoring service, a consumer will want to consider the following:
*How many credit reports are monitored for your monthly fee?
*What is the company’s notification policy of any changes they find on your credit reports?
*Are they registered with the Better Business Bureau?
*Does the Attorney General have any listed complaints on the company?
*Will the company offer identity theft restitution if your identity is stolen while under their services?