Credit Report Monitoring: Is it Really All That Necessary?
When it concerns evaluating the effectiveness or otherwise of credit report monitoring, one will immediately notice that it does have its own complement of strengths and weaknesses. So, it becomes necessary to also ponder over how much value you get for the money that you spend when using services of credit bureaus, as well as other companies who do the credit report monitoring for you. In any case, there are a few cost effective means of performing such monitoring including using credit freezes as well as locking your social security number.
In any case, both these steps will end up costing you a small sum of money that can range from five to ten dollars. Once you freeze your credit, for this money you get a PIN number which can also be used to unfreeze your credit and which involves spending another five to ten dollars, depending on state laws.
Monthly Reporting
Another factor worth pondering about with regard to effectiveness of credit report monitoring is figuring out whether it is really all that necessary for you to get monthly credit reports after having put a freeze on your credit. The fact of the matter is that you are entitled to getting one free credit report every year.
So, it may be a good idea when performing your credit report monitoring to place a freeze on your credit with a different credit bureau. Then, wait thirty days before ordering your free credit report. Then, after a further three to four months, repeat the same process with another credit bureau, and do the same for your spouse as well. Be in a position to get about six credit reports each year which will certainly help you with your credit report monitoring.
Of course, you must also be wary of the scare tactics employed by credit report monitoring advertising companies that like to have you believe that your identity is going to be stolen at any instant. They also tell you that paying five to ten dollars for better credit report monitoring is worth your while.
The sad truth is that identity thieves can devise many unique and novel ways of robbing your identity that most credit report monitoring efforts will fail to prevent. Thus, you should take these credit report monitoring advertisements and commercials with a grain of salt.
In any case most such services involve being told a subjective truth which is not of too much value anyway. It may actually be in your better interests to learn about proper Identity Theft Fraud Protection and Restoration, because these solutions could very well prove to be the better and more effective options compared to credit report monitoring and/or credit freezes.
