ID Theft
Best company for credit protection?
I've known some companies that protect your credit, meaning that no one can access your credit score or file without you are allowing them to. Does anyone knows which one is the best company?. And if they do, what its the average montly cost for this? Thank you!
Public Comments
- You're discussing a Credit Freeze. To do that you contact each of the three credit reporting companies and request one. If you are in the market for a loan the freeze will mean more work for you, but it is a good way to protect yourself from identity theft. A second option is to have each credit reporting company place a fraud alert on your credit history. This will not restrict access to the information, but will result in notifications to you any time your information is accessed.
- You don't have to pay to protect your credit. Any company that wants to charge you for this "service" is a scam. If you're talking about protecting your credit cards if they get stolen, you're already protected by federal laws and you can call each of your credit card issuers for details on what to do if you lose your wallet. Kevinngunn is right about the credit alert... you contact each credit bureau and tell them you want to place your file on alert status so that nobody can apply for credit in your name. This service is free from each of the three bureaus (I think they are TransUnion, Experian, Equifax). As for preventing companies from looking at your credit score without your permission... you'll have to ask the credit bureaus if there's a way to do that. Unsolicited inquiries generally don't affect your credit. In other words, inquiries only affect your credit rating if you applied for something yourself.
