The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. See Lexington Law’s editorial disclosure for more information.
Credit monitoring is a service that keeps an eye on your credit reports and alerts you when there are changes.
According to the 2023 Identity Fraud Study, there were 15.4 million victims of identity theft in 2022. Research shows that the biggest financial impact of identity theft happens when a new account goes undetected for six months or longer. Credit monitoring helps you stay on top of your reports to spot fraudulent activity and errors as soon as they occur.
So, what is credit monitoring? It’s a service that watches your credit reports and alerts you about changes. Credit monitoring has many benefits, including ensuring your credit reports stay accurate.
Most people don’t make a regular habit of checking their credit reports. This can leave them vulnerable to identity fraud and credit report mistakes that go undetected for months or years. But with credit monitoring, you get an alert anytime there’s a major action on your account. For instance, your credit monitoring service will notify you if new credit is opened in your name or a hard inquiry occurs.
Credit monitoring keeps tabs on your credit reports and alerts you of any changes or suspicious activity. A credit monitoring service can watch for:
Credit monitoring doesn’t take action if it detects unusual activity on your credit report. Its purpose is to alert you of any changes so you don’t need to constantly monitor your credit. Credit monitoring is a protective measure because it can alert you of the typical signs someone is stealing your identity, but it doesn’t take any action to stop or prevent suspicious activity.
Once credit monitoring alerts you of any changes, you should investigate yourself to determine whether or not the activity is fraudulent. From there, you can take appropriate action.
Several types of companies offer credit monitoring services, although the costs and services vary from company to company.
As you consider different services, examine how and when they’ll notify you of any changes. The sooner you’re aware of an incident on your account, the quicker you can take action and prevent additional harm to your credit.
Identity theft protection and credit monitoring serve similar purposes. However, the extent to which they search for your information differs:
| What does identity theft protection search and report to you? | What does credit monitoring search and report to you? |
|---|---|
| Arrest records | Credit reports |
| Bank accounts | Loan requests |
| Credit card accounts | Hard credit checks |
| Credit reports | - |
| Personal information on the dark web | - |
| USPS change of address | - |
| Utility requests | - |
Some identity theft protection includes insurance, which will help recover costs if your identity is stolen. Depending on your provider, it may also take action automatically to prevent identity theft. On the other hand, credit monitoring simply alerts you so you can investigate suspicious activity yourself.
Companies provide different services and levels of monitoring at various price points. Compare what each service offers to see what’s best for you.
Here are the main things to consider when choosing a credit monitoring service:
You aren’t required to use a service to monitor your credit—it’s something you can do yourself. That said, a credit monitoring service can save you time and money and alert you to fraudulent activity much faster. It’s nice to know there’s an extra set of eyes on your accounts.
For example, if you’re notified that someone applied for credit under your name, you can dispute it right away. But remember that credit monitoring can’t stop these incidents from happening.
Credit monitoring can do a lot of great things for your credit report and financial well-being if you know how to maximize its features.
Take full advantage of your credit monitoring service by:
Suspicious activity can be caused by many different things, including a negligent clerical error or intentional identity theft. You won’t know until you investigate the item by double-checking to ensure it’s not just a purchase you forgot.
If you determine your identity has been stolen:
Credit monitoring is important because it helps you catch identity theft or inaccuracies on your credit report faster. Catching these issues early makes them much easier to resolve and reduces the potential negative effects on your credit.
Credit monitoring is crucial because it helps you quickly catch identity theft or inaccuracies on your credit report. Seeing these issues early makes them much easier to resolve and reduces the potential negative effects on your credit.
In most cases, credit monitoring can be helpful. If the service is free, consider taking advantage of it. If the service is paid and you consistently check your reports yourself, it may not be necessary.
Many credit monitoring services come at a price. So, if this service is important to you, you’ll have to find room for it in your budget. Looking for a credit monitoring solution? Lex OnTrack provides credit monitoring and other identity theft prevention services to help protect your identity and finances.
Signing up for credit monitoring won’t improve your credit by itself. But credit monitoring can help you identify changes to your credit report that have the potential to hurt your credit. When you receive these alerts, you can act quickly to minimize the impact on your credit.
Credit monitoring doesn’t affect your credit score. Credit monitoring uses soft inquiries to see how your score changes, so there are no consequences of credit monitoring itself. Lexington Law Firm offers a comprehensive credit monitoring service that focuses on tracking your credit, protecting your identity and helping you fix issues. Additional benefits of this program include identity theft insurance. If you’re interested in learning more about how our credit monitoring program can benefit you, look into working with Lexington Law.
Note: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, reviewers, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective agents or employers.