ID Theft
credit monitoring service?
What is the best credit monitoring service? Why does someone sign up for it? Pros and cons? What should I look for when comparing companies? What is the average price? Thanks.
Public Comments
- Unless you've had stolen identity problems, you don't need this. The credit bureaus actively try to stir up fear about this so they can sell you these very profitable services. For the average person, your free once per year reports (www.annualcreditreport.com) are all you need.
- I'd agree with the previous answer. The only reason the average person would need to have credit monitoring is if they believe that their identity has been stolen, or they are in the process of a major purchase(such as a mortgage) and want to make sure their report stays correct. You are entitled to a free credit report from each of the big 3(Equifax, TransUnion, Experian) once per year from http://www.annualcreditreport.com . So for most people this is sufficient. But a nice trick on this is that you don't need to get all 3 at once. You can get one from one company, then 4 months later get the next company, then 4 months later get the last one. For for example you could do the following: January: Experian May: TransUnion Sept: Equifax Next January: Start Again with Experian If by chance you do want to get credit monitoring there are several out there and the cost is usually from about $9.95 to $14.95 a month.
