Credit Report Monitoring FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Credit Report Monitoring

What is credit report monitoring and why do I need it?

Credit monitoring services track your credit file daily and alert you whenever there is a change. These services are great for making sure you stay on top of your credit and are even better for preventing identity theft. Since any new information on your credit report can affect your credit score and your ability to get credit, we highly recommend monitoring your credit for any changes or inaccuracies. Given the high cost of having negative information on your report, we think credit monitoring is a great idea. Correcting incorrect negative information on your credit report can significantly raise your credit score and literally save you thousands of dollars a year.

We think credit monitoring is even more important for preventing identity theft. Most identity thieves will attempt to open new accounts in your name. This will always result in a "hard inquiry" to at least one of the credit bureaus. Credit monitoring services alert you within 24 hours of any change to your credit report, including credit inquiries. Thus if an identity thief is attempting to open an account in your name, you would see an inquiry or perhaps several inquiries from lenders you are not requesting credit from. You can then follow up with the lender or with your credit monitoring service to stop the identity theft before any damage is done.

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