Posts Tagged ‘monitoring’

What is Credit Monitoring?

Most people have at some point heard the words “credit monitoring service,” but not everyone knows what that kind of service is or how participating in one is a benefit to them and their finances. There are two important reasons that individuals enroll in credit monitoring services, with the benefits of the service being two-fold. First, they want to know about new activity or critical changes that have been made to their credit report without monitoring credit reports themselves. Secondly, they use the service as an early indicator of possible identity theft and credit fraud.

For those primarily interested in monitoring new activity or changes in their credit report, a credit monitoring service is a simple way to stay abreast of what changes might affect their credit scores and the way that they are viewed by lenders. Often, individuals with this focus enroll in a credit monitoring service along with an offer to obtain their full credit report. Some of the specific activities credit monitoring services look for include new credit inquiries, negative information, public records, changes in employment and new accounts. Credit monitoring services can either monitor credit reports with all of the three major credit monitoring bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) or monitor credit reports with just one of the bureaus depending on the service in which you enroll. These services monitor credit reports regularly and if a change is made you are notified by an e-mail alert usually within 24 hours. A credit monitoring service is also a great way to understand when any proactive account closings you’ve made are reflected on your credit report.

Secondly, many experts suggest using credit monitoring services to alert you to possible cases of identity theft and credit fraud. Unfortunately, a purchase on an unencrypted site, the loss of their wallet, giving their credit card information to an un-trusted source or even simply accidentally leaving your credit card behind at a restaurant is enough to have one’s identity stolen. Since credit monitoring services alert you when any change happens (whether you know about them or not) these alerts are often the first notice that an identity may have been compromised. Due to this fact, many credit monitoring services come with identity theft insurance coverage for individuals enrolled in their services. This type of coverage is in place to protect individuals in the event that they fall victim to identity theft and help cover costs associated with having their identity stolen.

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How Credit Monitoring Can Protect You Against Identity Theft

Technology is at the forefront of everything most people do from day to day. This includes financial transactions. Cash is a far less common means of paying for things these days because people feel safer carrying around a piece of plastic with their name on it than rolls of paper money that someone could steal without a trace. However, the concept of identity and theft protection was born from the use of credit cards. Not only is identity theft on the rise, the thieves behind it are getting smarter. This increases the need for monitoring credit reports through a credit monitoring service. Before you choose to invest in a credit monitoring service, you surely want to know what they can do for you to protect your identity. The way that investing in these services act as identity and theft protection is because they monitor your credit report for any changes. When signing up for the service, you will provide your contact information like email address and phone number so you can be notified if any changes are noticed with your credit. This way, you are informed in the shortest time possible of suspicious behavior associated with your account. Likewise, such monitoring credit reports will allow you to take necessary action quickly to put a stop to the thief. Your identity and theft protection needs to go beyond a credit monitoring service watching your spending habits and providing you with monitoring credit reports. That is why they also offer you unlimited access to your credit report. Under US law, every citizen has the opportunity to access a free credit report once a year from each of the three major credit bureaus. With a credit monitoring service on your side, you have 24/7 access so you can always know what your score is before applying for a loan or obtaining another form of financing. In the case that you do become a victim of identity theft, your $25,000 identity theft insurance will cover a great deal of damage that could happen to you financially. Also, without a credit monitoring service, you are likely to go a year or more without even realizing that you are a victim. With monitoring credit reports sent to you every time something suspicious comes up, that will never be the case when you take proper precautions and employ identity and theft protection in the form of monitoring services.

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Best Ways to Avoid Identity Theft

Identity theft can affect many aspects of your life, causing you to have trouble with tax filing, buying a home, or even getting insurance. It can also cause you to lose a lot of money, peace of mind and time in the process

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Tektronix Receives Lockheed Martin Outstanding Materials Support Commendation

Tektronix Noted for Achieving 100% Quality and 100% On-Time Delivery for Two Consecutive Years BEAVERTON, Ore.

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