It’s become increasingly common for large companies to experience data breaches, leaving customers vulnerable to fraud and identity theft.
When a scammer takes out a credit card or loan in someone else’s name, payments are not made and the victim’s credit score suffers. Typically, these signs first show up on a credit report, so it’s important to actively monitor your credit history for suspicious activity.
In addition to checking your free credit report and bank statements on a regular basis, you can also use a credit monitoring service.
What Is Credit Monitoring?
This service tracks anywhere from one to all three credit bureau reports – Equifax, Experian, TransUnion – and issues an alert for changes in activity, including a new credit limit or loan. Identity theft coverage may be included for free or an additional fee.
In terms of monitoring your credit, these services:
- Let you know when someone does a hard inquiry into your credit history.
- Alert you if a new account has been opened.
- Signal if you’ve been sent to collections or have any late payments.
- Indicate if you have a new address or telephone number in your name.
Services with identity theft monitoring also regularly scan the dark web for your name, email address, credit card number and Social Security number, alerting you to potential threats.
Pros of Credit Monitoring
The benefits of credit monitoring include:
- Tracking your credit score, which reflects your payment and overall financial history.
- Alerts for changes and the ability to take immediate action, including closing accounts just opened in your name and filing error reports with all three bureaus.
- The option to freeze your credit, which prevents hard inquiries and criminals from opening an account in your name.
- Identity theft alerts, so you can make a plan to protect your affected accounts.
- Identity theft insurance, in the event you’re a victim of this crime.
Do You Need a Credit Monitoring Service?
While you can check your credit reports annually for free, once you spot suspicious activity, the thief already has your personal information and could be opening accounts in your name. To determine if credit monitoring is right for you:
- Think About Your Risks: This includes if your personal information has already been exposed in a data breach, how educated you are on cybersecurity scams and how much you have to lose if you become a victim. The average cost of identity theft ranges from $400 to $1,600 per person.
- Know Your Alternatives: This includes checking your bank accounts for signs of fraud, signing up for identity theft protection for your checking and credit card accounts, and freezing your credit with the bureaus.
Ion Bank offers Credit Sense to our customers, a free credit monitoring tool available within iBanking. To keep your personal information protected, enroll today!