Credit Monitoring

Credit Monitoring Service

Credit Monitoring Comparison

According to a 2010 study from the Bureau of Justice, members of at least 8.6 million households reported being a victim of identity theft. Victims may remain unaware they’ve been victimized until discrepancies show up on a credit report. Credit monitoring alerts consumers when new inquiries are made or new information is added to a credit report. The three credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union, offer credit monitoring for a monthly or yearly fee. Each agency offers different services depending on the client’s needs. Credit monitoring is also available from other service providers outside of the three credit reporting agencies. Fees range from $5 to $25 per month.

Equifax Score Watch provides monitoring for Equifax only and reports score changes as they occur.
Equifax Credit Watch Gold with 3-in-1 Monitoring reports changes for all three credit reporting agencies and alerts consumers within 24 hours when changes are made to a credit report. The monthly service includes unlimited access to the Equifax credit report. Credit scores are included in the monthly fee.

Experian offers Credit Manager to monitor all three reporting agencies with daily access to credit reports. Experian updated credit scores daily. Experian Protect My ID provides more comprehensive monitoring with up to $1 million in identity theft protection.

Trans Union ID-Fraud Watch only monitors Trans Union inquiries and changes. Consumers may receive one credit report every three months. Changes in credit scores are made available daily. The monthly fee includes $25,000 in insurance against identity theft.

Although it’s not a credit reporting agency, Identity Guard provides credit monitoring of all three credit bureaus with $1 million in identity theft insurance and zero deductible. Clients receive email alerts when any changes are made to any one of the three credit reports. Identity Guard also features a detailed analysis to show how items are affecting a client’s score.

Trusted ID offers some unique features with its credit monitoring service. In addition to monitoring all three credit bureau credit reports, Trusted ID offers Black Market Internet Scanning. Periodic scanning is performed to detect use of a client’s name on credit or other applications processed through the internet. Trusted ID will also monitor the entire family’s credit, included in one fee.

Increasing numbers of people use services to monitor their credit report as part of a comprehensive defense against identity theft. Credit monitoring can’t guarantee against identity theft but it’s an important tool for early detection. Many victims of identity theft are not even aware that their identity has been compromised until after the damage is already done. Most credit monitoring services offer free trials so consumer can try before they buy.