Deav Daver asked:




As you research Identity Theft, two terms are encountered frequently: 1) Identity Theft Protection, and 2) Credit Monitoring.

Many people assume these two terms mean the same thing and use them interchangeably. BUT, they are not the same, even though they are both designed to help defend against your becoming a victim of Identity Thieves.The primary difference between them is that one provides a more complete protection than the other.

Credit Monitoring is a service that only monitors your credit report for unusual activity. Generally this service is offered by the credit bureaus themselves, but individual companies can also offer the service. The way this program works is this: 1) You pay a fee to have somebody monitor your credit, and 2) When unusual activity is detected, you are sent an alert within 24 to 72 hours

Once you have been alerted, it is up to you:

To check out the unusual activity, To determine what is going on, To ensure that the information is accurate, and To initiate any necessary action.

Identity Theft Protection is a service that does more than just monitor your credit, it prevents people from gaining access to your identity. With this type of program in place, the company providing this service will:

Order your free credit reports for you on a scheduled basis, so you can see what is on your credit report, Notify you whenever there is any attempt to open credit or apply for services in your name, Remove your name from pre-approved credit mailings (which is another avenue that Identity Thieves use to open credit in your name), Repeat this process every year, so that you are fully protected.

Another difference between these two types of services is that with Identity Theft Protection, the goal of the program is to stop thieves before they access your information. With Credit Monitoring, you may have already become a victim of Identity Thieves before you are notified of the activity. Credit Monitoring programs expect you to do everything on your own; however, they will provide you with advice on where to start.

A significant advantage of Identity Theft Protection is that, if you do become a victim of identity thieves, you don’t have to take care of everything by yourself. It can take many hours to correct Identity Theft problems by yourself, so the company will provide the people to help you fix the problems.

Erin

Joseph Troyer asked:




Equifax Credit monitoring review includes a number of services to help consumers keep a watchful eye on their credit reports. The three major reporting agencies keep reports detailing consumers’ repayment patterns. Any credit cards or loans are documented and whenever a late payment or non payment is reported, it affects the overall credit rating. It is very important to know what types are activities are being reported on your account.

In many cases, there are certain credit activities that are reported on a consumer’s account that do not belong to them. These are oftentimes mistakes that are made by the reporting bureau. But in some instances the reasons are related to identity fraud. There are individuals that steal credit card and other personal information for their own financial gain. When such illegal activities transpire, they often ruin the credit worthiness of the victim involved.

Individuals must take certain measures in order to protect their credit information. Credit fraud continues to be a growing problem and consumers must frequently track the credit information reported on their accounts. There are a number of ways people get their personal information stolen. There are many services that will help consumers detect unauthorized activity on their account.

Individual’s that have had their credit damaged as a result of credit fraud will have to spend a lot of time correcting their credit situation. Until the matter is resolved, this individual will have to live with the consequences of having poor credit. They will be denied loans and other forms of credit until their credit report is restored to its original state.

A number of different businesses provide credit monitoring services. These service range in the level of monitoring that they are able to perform for their customers. A basic service will send email alerts regarding any type of activity that is reflected on any of the three reporting agencies. Customers will be notified about any credit cards that were opened in their name, loan applications and other important financial information.

All of the major reporting agencies provide some form of a monitoring service to their customers for a monthly charge. Some plans offer more comprehensive services than others. It a good idea to check into all of the major credit monitoring service and select the one that best serves your needs. There are some services that also provide insurance against any loss suffered from credit fraud. Some of these plans do not require a deductible.

There are banks that also provide credit monitoring services to their customers. This is also for an additional fee. Banking monitoring services will also include any suspicious activity noted on your banking accounts. It is very important to frequently check the activity on you financial accounts. When a negative mark is applied to your credit report, it will affect you credit for up to seven years unless it is cleared.

Gerald

Greg Mckeon asked:




One of the biggest threats to consumers is the lack of credit report monitoring. Most of us know that fraud exists but don’t realize just how big the threat is. Con artists prey on the naive and the greedy and they’ve honed their skills for years duping their victims out of money and possessions. It may not be surprising then that identity fraud has become so widespread because consumers still embrace the DIY mode of prevention; but honestly it’s too many avenues to keep abreast of. While you’re watching A, B and C, D, E and F are left vulnerable.

Proactive credit bureau monitoring could minimize the risk of financial and identity theft. The credit bureaus are updated by vendors of your whereabouts all the time. Use a new address and you can be sure that the credit bureau will soon have it listed on your credit report. Apply for a new credit card and the inquiry is listed on your credit report. This is why credit report monitoring is so vital to keeping your identity protected.

Just imagine some imposter posing as you, using your information including your sacred social security number. It becomes life altering when someone is out there posing as you ruining your good name and credit. And while the majority of us request our free yearly credit report, there are a vast number of people who don’t and this group won’t find out that someone has stolen their identity until they happen to come across some peculiar information. Which group are you in? Will it be the protected or un-protected group?

Fraud is the type of crime that keeps on giving; here are a few reasons to consider why credit report monitoring is so important;

The yearly credit report you just reviewed had no suspicious items listed so you’re at ease and feel protected. The following month an imposter opens 3 new credit cards in your name with a new address. You have no idea that this has occurred. The new credit card billing statements began going to the new address and the imposter is paying the minimum payments; it may be a rarity but they have successfully became you and you still have no idea that this is occurring. The imposter feels confident and successfully gets approved for 2 new car loans; this time they have no intention of paying and the imposter disappears. You still are unaware that your identity has been stolen because no one has notified you.

This is nothing new because imposters steal identities everyday for various reasons. In some cases they only want credit and some will even pay the minimum payments; others are just buying time to see how much they can get away with until they completely disappear once the credit limit has been reached.

All of those scenarios has happened and become frequent each year. While all cannot be completed prevented, it certainly can be minimized because if you were utilizing a credit monitoring service they would have alerted you the second a new address or application for a credit card hit your credit report.

Every instance of a request for new credit or a vendor reporting a new address will show up on your report however if you’re not taking advantage of good credit monitoring then an imposter could do damage twice-fold before you find out.

Some of you may be very proactive and keep regular updates on your credit report while others should really invest in a service that specializes in credit report monitoring and quick alerts of fraud. In today’s age of the unknown you need all the help you can find.

Adam

Terro White asked:




If you prefer to shop credit monitoring servicing, you need to discover the one that provides the most value for the bucks. For instance, various monitoring servicing will offer notices once certain actions occur. You need to be informed once the following particulars appear on the credit reports:

New opened accounts: If you are opening up a fresh charge account, you are going to recognize about them. However you as well need to recognize if someone else attempts to open up the unofficial account in your identify.

Fresh enquiries: various parties will view your credit reports while consideration. This comprises pre-approved offerings of credit likewise enquiries during the course of starting the new personal credit line. It is good if you are informed in each and every case, simply so you recognize who’s taking your credit history.

Alterations In the credit register: the credit report is active, signifying they alters on a regular basis based on what dynamic creditors are stating about you, based on the measure of credit entry against debt that you’ve, and based on alterations in the life condition. The monitoring servicing ought to catch alterations that you are not anticipating, also those that you’re.

Alterations in employ: the employment is other particular that is tracked on the credit reports, as it acts as the large portion in the worthiness of credit. However it’s as well the indicant of identity stealing. If the employer that you do not know shows the report, you ought to enquire instantly.
Address Modifications: You might not recognize them, however each and every time you go a fresh credit entry is made. The monitoring servicing should let you recognize of these kinds of modifications, and whenever one pops that is not exact, they are the fine sign there’s either a mistake on the credit reports or that the identity is being meddled with.

Know what is being monitored

At last, bear in mind that no one recognizes the credit or the story as well as you get along. Still if you select to get the credit monitoring servicing assist you remain top of the credit report, you ought to be after to review personally the reports leastwise double the yr. No one recognizes the credit or the story, and you could catch up with particulars that monitoring servicing leave out.

Credit reports monitoring, whether you get along them yourself or employ the servicing to get along them for, will not block off identity theft. It may assist you recognize identity theft early on therefore you could put an end to them ahead before a bit much hurt is made and retrieve from them rapidly, however it will not stop them. There’s not any magic screen that will block off identity stealing, however you could sure bring in them tougher for the stealers to sneak the identity by defending them with identity theft protection at each and every opportunity.

Luis

Greg Mckeon asked:




Many people still overlook credit monitoring services to opt for DIY identity theft protection but have you reviewed the newest dangers?

Data mining companies are in the business of collecting information on every individual to categorize for demographics. Where you live, your full name, address, home phone, cell and business numbers, the type of car you like, what you purchase online and that’s just a sample of information. But here’s the shocking news – anyone can buy this information from these data mining companies.

Credit Monitoring Services help repel the risk, stop much of the invasive research into your life and can help even if a thief manages to access your personal information.

Criminals are persistent in every way. Someone right now is falling victim to identity theft and with the combination of companies buying and selling personal information and people simply enjoying the web we have a lingering problem that’s difficult to stop.

Keep in mind; businesses have made it easier to open up new accounts. You can order services from motor vehicles online; start new utilities online; open a bank account online; technology has turned out to be advantageous for criminals. Some of the top credit monitoring services has invented concrete methods to stop thieves from stealing your life.

Believe me you cannot rely on the police or the credit bureaus to do much once your identity has been stolen. A police report only protects you from further damage and proves to financial institutions that your identity was compromised but it doesn’t rectify the negative after effects.

Reality tells us that bill collectors do not care that someone stole your identity. They will call and hound you and just sell the account off to a new bill collector who will start the same assault. It will take years to clear up this travesty.

What can Credit Monitoring Services really do?

Nothing can completely stop thieves from finding ways to steal your personal information. I doubt there will ever be a way to eradicate all identity theft but the credit monitoring services can send alerts to you if any new accounts are opened or inquiries are made for new accounts which can greatly impact your problems later.

If an inquiry for a new credit card is made the credit monitoring service can alert you before a new credit card is issued. The same process with a car loan; you would get alerted and then all 3 credit bureaus would be notified about the potential fraud.

If that scenario were to happen and you were not using any credit monitoring services you probably would not find out about any new credit cards or potential car loans for months or even years until you applied for new credit.

We face new threats of credit identity theft each day and thieves are researching new methods to steal your life. You can either make it easier for them or utilize every way possible to stop them.

Bernard

James Rubright asked:




Credit report monitoring is becoming an absolute must have as online identity thieves grow ever bolder. Internet fraud is rampant nowadays and many have been victimized. The most common kind occurs when stolen personal information is used to gain access to private accounts. In even scarier scenarios, when a residence address is tracked down, the house may be robbed, and sometimes families get hurt.

It pays to be informed about how these internet thieves operate. They will after all use all kinds of deceptive practices to get your information. Shopping online has become popular because it makes purchasing very easy and less of a hassle, especially to busy people. But be careful, because it has also paved the way for scammers to thrive on unknowing victims.

Credit report monitoring agencies give one a modicum of protection because they are always on guard. If we are all honest with ourselves we can tend to get lazy and complacent. Thieves understand human nature and take advantage of it. Simple things like placing updated anti-virus software on the computer and or using a shredder to destroy your sensitive information is the easiest way to protect yourself but thieves are getting more sophisticated while our level of vigilance is staying the same or getting worse as more people get comfortable doing business online.

A big buzzword in the world of business and the internet is outsourcing. I think this is a perfect use of the word in this type of situation because since we can not or will not take the time to protect our personal information we should outsource the work to someone who will do it on our behalf. Credit report monitoring services do this and more so that we do not have to be hyper vigilant.

Cody

Jeff Glasser asked:




Credit monitoring is a hands-on way to find out what is going on regarding your credit. It allows you a window into your credit report 24 hours a day to find out if there is any activity by someone trying to compromise your identity. It is useful if you have been a victim of identity theft or if you feel at-risk for identity theft.

This type of monitoring will continuously check your credit reports for you and alert you whenever any changes or additions appear. If a lender or creditor checks your credit files, you’ll receive an alert. Credit monitoring does indeed offer you value, in that you will be alerted to changes in your credit report. If an identity thief is opening new accounts in your name, changing your address or otherwise causing changes in your credit file, then you will be notified of those changes. These services can be costly and can charge up to a $150.00 per year, depending upon the provider.

Monitoring typically allows you unlimited access to your credit report so you can keep track of your credit standing. Monitoring is considered one of the best ways to catch identity theft early. Credit monitoring or freezing your credit are measures that will help you keep your credit report free of errors or fraudulent reports. This type of monitoring tracks changes in your credit on a daily basis, so that you are immediately notified of any adjustments. It is the quickest way to discover potential identity theft and to find out instantly who has been viewing your credit report. Monitoring is your protection as identity theft can seriously hurt you financially.

Credit monitoring is used by consumers for one crucial reason, identity protection. These services are designed to immediately inform you of any changes to your credit report. It is a service that helps you restore and protect your credit from deceitful activity. Monitoring typically includes some type of credit repair, whereby any questionable negative items on your credit report are disputed and removed.

Josephine

Deav Daver asked:




It’s a good question and deserves an equally good answer. Credit Monitoring allows you to tell when someone else has charged something to your existing account or who has opened a new account in your name. If you are not watching your credit, that person (a thief) can create quite a bill even before you recognize that they are tapping your account. If they have opened a new account in your name, they can run up an even bigger bill without your knowledge.

Credit Monitoring is actually a two-part process. The first part is your active review every week or two of any credit card, debit card, checking account or savings account that you have, to assure that there are no transactions taking place that you did not authorize. The second part is the periodic review of your credit rating as held by the three major credit bureaus. This step should be taken at least once every four months, and can be accomplished by requesting a credit report from one of those three bureaus. If you do this through the Government’s authorized channel, the reports are free. You are allowed one report each year from each of the bureaus. By requesting a report from one bureau, then the next report (4 months later) from another bureau, and finally the last report (another 4 months later) from the third bureau, you will have received each report for free and will have a good idea of the status of your credit, in so far as the credit bureaus are concerned.

There are other tools available that can also be used to stop Identity Thieves from using your credit. Check out one of the links below to get more information as to how you can protect your self and understand better Why Credit Monitoring?

Rafael

Brice Alvord asked:




Identity theft is no longer an unusual occurrence. It is rapidly evolving and is quickly becoming a socio-economic inevitability. Identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar crime. It is a crime in which an impostor obtains key pieces of your personal identifying information such as your Social Security number or driver’s license number and uses them for their own personal gain. Identity pirates can gather all sorts of confidential information about you by prowling the Web. They begin with the misuse of your personally identifying information such as your name and Social Security number, credit card numbers, or other financial account information. Once they have this information, identity thieves may rent an apartment, obtain a credit card, or establish a telephone account in your name.

An Identity thief can take your personal information from your mail box or your home. Identity theft is bad enough but right now it is also pretty much of a cottage industry relying primarily on techniques like dumpster diving. Identity theft laws and crack-downs, while improving, are definitely not where they should be. It’s hard to pin down, because each law enforcement agency may classify ID theft differently–it can involve credit card fraud, Internet fraud, or mail theft, among other crimes.

Detecting Identity Theft & Credit Card Fraud

A key way to detect fraudulent accounts is through credit monitoring / reports. Review your credit information regularly (free annual reports are available from the Credit Reporting Bureaus) Visit your bank’s, credit card issuer’s or biller’s web site(s) frequently to monitor regular account activity. Victims of identity theft don’t normally know they’ve been victimized until:They are contacted by a collection agency over past due accounts they never knew they had; significant charges may show up on a credit card bill for purchases they never made; a lender tries to repossess a car they didn’t know they owned; or they are contacted by the police after a crime is committed in their name. It is important to resolve fraud promptly, minimizing losses and protecting your credit record. You should ask your financial provider about zero-liability guarantees against fraud and dedicated resources to help you resolve and recover from any potential losses. Some banks will work with you if you have an account at their bank. If you are a Victim of theft, promptly notify your financial providers, begin monitoring your accounts more frequently, and place an “alert” at all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion). when someone uses your name, Social Security number, credit card number or some other piece of your personal information to apply for a credit card, make unauthorized purchases, gain access to your bank accounts or obtain loans under your name.

Problems On The Internet

Schemes known as “phishing” use e-mail messages to lure unwitting consumers to Web sites masquerading as home pages of trusted banks and credit card issuers, corporate security specialists say. Online visitors are then induced to reveal passwords as well as bank account, Social Security and credit card numbers. The crimes ranged from the theft of a credit card number to more elaborate identity thefts used to secure loans.

Thieves have turned toward the theft of information, and specifically personal information, because with an assumed identity criminals can purchase goods and services at will using someone else’s credit..

Social Security Issues

Do you use your Social Security number for identification. The identity thief uses key pieces of your information such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers to obtain credit, merchandise and services in your name. Almost 50 percent of students have had grades posted by Social Security number. While there are many ways to get a Social Security Number on someone, most criminals start with a phone book. They may use your name and Social Security number to get government benefits. Theives may get a job using your Social Security number.

A new Social Security number may not resolve your identity theft problems, and may actually create new problems. Even if the old credit information is not associated with your new Social Security number, the absence of any credit history under your new Social Security number may make it more difficult for you to get credit. And finally, there’s no guarantee that a new Social Security number wouldn’t also be misused by an identity thief.

Fighting Back

Each of these actions places you at risk of being a victim of identity theft because each requires you to share personal information such as your bank and credit card account numbers, your Social Security number, or your name, address, and phone number.

Based on the latest findings, the Better Business Bureau, Wells Fargo, Visa and CheckFree have issued the following tips for consumers to protect themselves against financial identity fraud: Prevent access to your personal information Replace paper bills, statements and checks with Internet (paperless) versions Consider moving to an electronic bill payment service, such as your bank or biller’s web site, Stop sending signed paper checks through the mail.

Many of the most vicious cases, say analysts, involve corporate insiders who hijack sensitive personal information from corporate databases in order to begin picking people’s pockets. Call and speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each company. Avoid using easily available information like your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

Be aware of how information is stolen and what you can do to protect yours, monitor your personal information to uncover any problems quickly, and know what to do when you suspect your identity has been stolen. They can steal your wallet or purse, or convince you to give out personal information. In short, any piece of paper you no longer need that contains personal information. Do you use your personal computer to buy merchandise or purchase tickets for travel, concerts, or other services. This is the same personal information that identity thieves use to commit fraud. Once they have your personal information, identity thieves use it in a variety of ways.

Fixing The Damage

Victims are spending more time to resolve identity fraud cases, which has increased from 33 hours in 2003 to 40 hours in 2006. Typically, victims don’t have to pay debts incurred by another person, however that’s not the point, the time, the stress, and the many sleepless nights you have to go through to clean up your record that really hurts most victims. It can take months and even years to undo the damage inflicted on the reputation of the victims and the stressful trail of destruction that takes its toll.

Prevention Is The Best Remedy

Experts say that the solution to preventing identity theft is a simple, three-step process: Curb the use of the Social Security number as a unique identifier for business use, a measure that has been introduced in Congress and defeated several times over the past decade Force credit-granting agencies to require more identifiers and shore up their credit card policies Restrict all selling of personal information by credit bureaus, state and federal agencies, and marketing firms.

Preventing identity theft is not as hard as it may seem. From a personal perspective, make sure that you take advantage of technologies that enhance your security and privacy when you use the Internet, such as digital signatures, data encryption, and “anonymity” services. Companies and their management need to be more aware of how they’re putting their customers at risk.

Obviously, identity theft is not only of great concern for the individual affected, but by the financial institutions that are deceived by this practice. According to the FBI, Identity Theft is the fasting growing crime in the US. And it is is costing an estimated $6 Billion.

Francisco

Nancy Dewitz asked:




Credit Monitoring has inherent weaknesses and strengths. However, when taking this service out through a credit bureau or any other company who offers this service, are you getting the most bang for your buck?

First, credit freezes and locking down your social security number is a good first step in the right direction. However, if you contact the credit bureaus directly, you can freeze your own credit for a nominal fee of $5 or $10. Naturally you get a pin number at the time you do the freeze. Therefore, when you want to remove the freeze, you can do so for a nominal fee of $5 or $10 depending on your applicable state law.

Second, do you really need a copy of your credit report every month complete with email alerts and text messages when you put a freeze on your account? You get a free credit report from all the bureaus once a year, so place a freeze with each credit bureau, wait a month and order your free report from the first credit bureau. Wait 3 or 4 months and order a credit report from another bureau. You can do the same with your spouse since most times your credit is intertwined, and receive a total of six credit reports a year.

Third, the credit services and bureaus do not tell you what percentage of companies do NOT belong to the credit bureaus. Mom-and-Pop operations, furniture stores, car lots that sell cars at exorbitant interest rates to poor credit risks are just a few examples of businesses that may not report to the bureau. This is an expense that small businesses cannot afford or want to get involved with. Trust me when I say, there are an astounding number of businesses that do not belong to or report to the credit bureaus.

Bottom line, Credit Monitoring advertisements employ scare tactics to make you believe all your worldly goods will evaporate overnight leaving you to sing for your supper at a restaurant to pay off all the bills from Identity Theft, therefore, freezing your credit yourself for $5 or $10 is a good idea and a good value.

However, what do you do with all the ways that Identity Theft can come at you that Credit Monitoring may never alert you to? I would love to see some truth in advertising for credit monitoring and credit freeze commercials, but I could just as easily click my heels twice and be in Kansas. Basically Credit Monitoring services tell their version of the truth, but it’s what they’re not telling you that really irks me no end.

So what is the rest of the story? According to my sources, credit fraud is not the major cause of Identity Theft but it’s the noncredit-related areas such as legal, medical, tax, benefits, 401(k), immigration, drivers license and other types of fraud that are purported in your name that not only create massive nightmares but are for the most part untraceable by law enforcement. Handling the nightmare yourself can take months, not hours to resolve.

Therefore, you cannot prevent Identity Theft. It’s a matter of when, not if, you will be a victim. However, there are more effective steps you can take to protect, detect and restore your identity in the early stages of Identity Theft. Discover a whole new world of Identity Theft Fraud Protection and Restoration solutions that are much more effective than Credit Monitoring and credit freezes.

Your Identity Theft & Fraud Protection Specialists,

Nancy Dewitz and Bob Listerman

Brandon