There is a wide variety of different
types of credit monitoring services, so it's worth carefully considering your options, particularly if you're going to be paying for them.
In addition to the fraud alert you should place with a reporting agency, you should also take
advantage of credit monitoring services from your credit cards.
When you review credit monitoring services make sure you know exactly the
level of credit monitoring that you needs — daily monitoring, all three credit report and credit scores.
Carlucci and several other lawmakers have introduced legislation that would strengthen consumer protections and increase scrutiny
of credit monitoring companies.
There is no need to weaken CROA to allow the promotion
of credit monitoring products that are of dubious value and that have been the subject of highly deceptive marketing as revealed by law enforcement actions and Congress's own findings.
It also warns that fraudsters may offer free credit scores in an attempt to share your personal information — adding to the complexity of the existing
web of credit monitoring services.
If you have a membership at one
of the credit monitoring sites you will notice every time your credit limit is increased on any one of your credit cards, within about 45 days after that you will get an alert showing your credit score just went up.
Peddlers of credit monitoring essentially claim their service is valuable because erroneous information frequently appears on your credit report.
Improving your credit rating is another
aspect of credit monitoring, and you can do that by paying off debts, using your credit cards sparingly and holding on to credit cards you've had for a long period of time to lengthen your credit history.
After the attack, Equifax offered a free
year of credit monitoring service to everyone in the U.S. with a valid social security number.