Other financial experts recommend that you check your credit report twice a year, but ideally you should do it once every quarter. Especially if you’re actively using credit and if anyone other than you has access to your social security number, then the bottom line is you really need to be monitoring your credit as often as once each quarter.

Credit reports are updated once a quarter by the credit bureaus but updates can be recorded anytime especially if there’s a lot of  activity, like credit inquiries, new accounts, or negative entries.

Employing credit monitoring services in general means that you have your credit report monitored for you on a regular basis, and you get alerted via email, phone or letter about any changes to your credit history.

Credit Monitoring: The good and the bad

There are those who do not consider these services worthwhile and those who feel it is essential to your overall credit health. Yes you can monitor your own credit with some effort, and depending on how often you plan on doing it, you’ll need to request a copy of your credit report from each of the credit bureaus individually and pay each for the report.

Doing it yourself is less convenient and you get no alerts. For around $10 a month most credit monitoring services will include a number of benefits to include a service warranty and resolution assistance should anything happen. You won’t get any of these benefits by monitoring your own credit files.

If you can do without the additional benefits then for around $10 to $15 dollars you can get each of your reports each quarter and review your accounts. So it really is a matter of do you want to do the foot work yourself?

The number of threats consumers face today are astounding, what’s worse, once the scam takes place, the victim may not notice the theft until months later. So what can you do to ensure your personal information stays safe?

One of the first steps to get started is to monitor your credit report. Your personal credit files are kept by the 3 major credit bureaus in the US. The information they record include:

• The companies that granted you credit
• Third parties that have made credit inquiries about you
• Third parties that have reviewed your credit
• Payment and timeliness information (payment history)
• Past addresses for the last 10 years.
• Jobs you’ve held in the last 10 years

Guidelines for monitoring your credit:

Keeping track of your credit report and what appears on it regularly, will prove a huge benefit and a great way to stay ahead of identity thieves. Here are some guidelines to be most effective.

1. Check all 3 of your credit reports: You’ll find that there are significant gaps and differences in how your credit is seen by each of the major bureaus. A certain account might show in one but not the other, so it’s essential you compare information across all three reports.
2. Monitor your credit reports quarterly: You can check your credit free once a year, and although that’s better than nothing, it isn’t frequent enough to detect fraud and stop the damage. Checking your report once every quarter is the most ideal way to keep on top of what’s going on with your personal credit file and catch identity thieves and stop credit fraud before it becomes a bigger problem.
3. Look for suspicious activity: When reviewing your credit report you’ll notice and recognize accounts that are familiar to you, like your Visa card from Chase, or that car loan you’re still paying off. Your job is to take a close look at every single account reported on all 3 of your credit reports and find anything that looks suspicious or inconsistent when compared to your other reports. Look at inquiries made and find out who they are and why they’re inquiring about your when you have not recently applied for credit.

Keeping on top of it proactively and consistently is the most effective way to keep safe from credit fraud and other identity theft threats. However, it may seem a little inconvenient and time consuming, if this is you, consider credit monitoring services or full blown Identity Theft Protection services.

These automated systems will alert you automatically when changes to any of your credit reports occur, and depending on which service you sign up for, the coverage can be very sophisticated and certainly takes the burden of your hands.

Credit card fraud can be prevented with the help of credit monitoring services, but for those who are not yet signed to these services, you have rights under the law if you become a victim or credit fraud.

1. First thing you must do is get a police report filled out. Many states won’t have a specific law for this, but you must be persistent, as this report will entitle you to the following:

• A 7 year fraud alert
• A credit freeze
• Have inaccurate or fraudulent data blocked from your credit reports
• Get copies of all transactions records on fraudulent accounts

2. You have the right to have those fraudulent accounts removed from your credit report once you have gathered the necessary evidence about the fraud, including any collections notices or inquiries.

How to organize your credit fraud case:

• Keep a detailed log of your time and efforts, including all phone calls you receive or make, including names of people you talk to, their titles, phone numbers, company name and notes about the conversation.
• Mail all correspondence certified with a return receipt requested to confirm it has been delivered. Keep the postcards you receive back as evidence.
• Get confirmation of all conversations and agreements in writing, people leave companies all the time and that person may not be around to see that agreement through.
• Maintain an expense log, where you record the time and money you’re investing into resolving your credit fraud case.

3. Work with the right people. You’ll waste a lot of time if you hire or talk to the wrong people about your case. Insist on speaking with someone on the fraud or investigative side of a company or government agency. Customer service is never the right place to start discussing your credit fraud problem.

If your case is beyond credit card fraud and it involves other aspects of your identity, check the resources listed on the Identity Theft Victims page.

Once your case is resolved and your credit report is back to a healthy status, consider a solid identity theft or credit monitoring service that can provide advanced credit fraud alerts to help you act quickly.

The scanning technology employed by some of these providers is outstanding, being able to detect subscriber information on illegal information trading sites is one of the best benefits of the service.

Taking a proactive and consistent approach to protecting your credit means understanding and accepting the responsibility for it. Making payments on time and never cutting corners or compromising when it comes to the security of your credit cards, bank accounts, and every other aspect of your personal identity.

These points may sound obvious but are often ignored by consumers, and it is when we let our guard down that we create chances for identity thieves to take advantage of our smallest mistakes to earn themselves a big payday. Protecting your credit involves a significant time investment from you, but is is part of the responsibility of being issued credit.

Minimizing the Risks of Fraud

Credit card fraud is one of the most common and most lucrative crime trends. It’s also one of the easiest to do and get away with, and the hardest to detect without the proper credit monitoring in place. Identity thieves are opportunistic and use phishing, skimming, and dumpster diving as methods of digging for key pieces of information such as your social security number, credit card numbers, csv verification numbers and anything they can use to either abuse your existing credit accounts or open new ones under your name.

Victims of credit fraud are often left with the daunting task of restoring their credit and their good names at a significant cost of both time and money. Here’s how you outsmart the scammers and minimize your risks for credit fraud.

1. Pay close attention to your billing cycles – contact your credit card company or bank if your statements do not arrive when they should.
2. Watch out for mail fraud – redirecting mail is very easy to do, know when your statements should arrive and do your best to secure your mail box with a lock. Never leave mail unattended and use a cross-cut shredder to destroy junk mail that contains your personal information.
3. Password protect everything – take advantage of additional security features offered by your credit provider or bank, such as password protection. Many people often see these extra steps as a burden rather than a benefit and this is letting your guard down.
4. Protect your personal information – you need to be cautious about who you give your information to, always know who you’re dealing with. Phone, email and snail mail phishing scams are still around because they still work, millions of people in the US fall victim to these each year.
5. Leave your SSN card at home – it’s a common habit to carry everything you may one day need with you in your wallet, it’s also a big mistake and an easy way to lose a lot of critical personal information at once. Your SSN is one of the most valuable pieces of information an identity thief can get their hands on, it means an easy pay day.
6. Shop securely online – when shopping online make sure you’re only doing it on secured sites. Make sure the address starts with https:// and look for the lock symbol somewhere in the footer of your browser, or the SSL (secure socket layer) text somewhere on the page.
7. Consider credit monitoring and/or identity theft protection – protecting against credit fraud and identity theft isn’t a fun job at all. The most convenient and practical way to protect your credit is to automate the process with these services. It’s instant peace of mind.

The FTC reports that it can take up to 6 months and in some cases up to 12 months for a victim of identity theft to take notice that their credit card information has been used by someone else. The harshest of all notices is being contacted by a bill collector about unpaid charges made by someone else.

Credit monitoring services are designed to alert the credit owner on a daily or weekly basis when credit changes occur in your credit reports. Be it a new credit account, mortgage or any information considered critical, it’s nice to have that heads up that something important is taking place and you should take a look.

Credit monitoring won’t prevent someone from using your social security number or medical benefits in any other ways. This type of service can work well for someone who is just getting started with building their credit or rebuilding their credit. If you never provide your social security number to anyone, chances are this service will work just fine for you.

Your reports should provide detailed information from all three credit bureaus, having a 3 in 1 credit report is best, because it provides the highest level of detail about your credit history.

You should clearly see details about your monthly payments, credit lines opened or closed, active loans, paid off accounts etc. All this information including your current address and past names used, are considered your credit history. When you activate your credit monitoring service whenever this information changes from either bureau you are notified.

What are the best services? Many of the identity theft protection companies like Trusted ID and LifeLock offer credit monitoring as part of their overall service. However IdentityLookout.com by Experian and FreeCreditReport.com are two of the most popular and widely used services with a long history of successful credit fraud prevention for their clients.

In order to get started you will need to visit either one of the providers above, where you’ll learn more details about their programs, then enter their secure portal where you’ll provide personal information that will allow them to begin gathering information about you. This process may take a bit long but it’s absolutely necessary in order to get started correctly.

Some of these practices include:

• never giving out credit card information over the phone
• never responding to email or phone phishing scams
• never lending your credit card to anyone
• shopping online with secure sites only
• always keep track of where your cards are
• only carry the card that you need in your wallet and put away the ones you hardly ever use
• always submit credit card information with caution
• know who you’re dealing with at all times

Credit card protection can also be automated through special services that make it easier to set up and receive credit card fraud alert notices and even insure the card holder against heavy losses sometimes incurred due to misuse and identity theft.

The biggest danger to consumers today is not their own carelessness, it’s the data loss that occurs during security breaches. Companies that handled credit card information today have a huge problem securing consumer information. The high cost of technology and overhead of maintaining this information makes it challenging and the attempts from hackers to penetrate these systems to obtain this information is a constant threat.

Credit card protection services or credit monitoring services provide a good level of security for ensuring the card owner does not become a victim of identity theft. Credit information is all too easily available from too many sources and in many cases credit card numbers along with social security numbers are made available on black market sites where this information can be traded for money.

Credit fraud will always be a popular trend because it is always lucrative and easy to get away with. To get the credit card protection you need now and stay in charge of your credit, consider the services of identitylookout.com, also receive a 30-day trial of their identity theft protection service.

Your 3 in 1 credit report is easily downloaded after you fill out the required information from either one of the credit reporting bureaus, this will typically take from 5 to 10 minutes and your report is made available instantly.

What’s in a 3 in 1 credit report?
A 3 in 1 credit report includes all three of the major credit reporting bureaus (Experian, Equifax and Transunion). This type of report will show you activities as seen by these agencies and gives the credit owner a detailed topside view of their credit activities and makes it easier to detect discrepancies and errors. You will see a number of differences with the way your credit history is reported by all three credit bureaus. Even your credit score will be different.

Will my free credit report include my credit score?
In most cases no, your credit score can be provided to you with your credit report but typically it involves a fee. Depending on the bureau or the promotion running at the time you may be get your score for $5 to $9 dollars in some cases. Even the government sponsored annual credit report, does not include your score.

Can I get a free credit report if I’m an Identity Theft Victim?
Yes, all identity theft victims are entitled to their free credit report by filling out the identity theft affidavit and a police report to all three credit reporting bureaus and by law you’re entitled to it.

What should I do if my credit shows errors?
First you need to make sure the errors are not showing on all 3 reports, if they do, these may be more consistent than erroneous, in which case unfortunately, you must do some of the foot work and contact the creditor that issued the debt or reported the entry and make sure that your account with them is in good standing or resolved. Then provide solid proof to the reporting bureaus about your new account status.

How do I get my report?
To get a free credit report sent directly to you or downloaded instantly check out this new offer that includes free identity theft protection for 30 days. Enjoy the benefits of proper credit monitoring and identity theft when you get your free credit report from identitylookout.com today.

But, is credit monitoring enough to battle identity theft? Can this measure alone help you protect your identity properly? Credit monitoring services may insist that this is the best way prevent identity theft and although it is an important aspect of identity theft protection, it alone is not a comprehensive system for total protection against credit fraud or other types of identity theft.

Total Identity theft protection includes a lot more than credit monitoring, it’s safe to say that the two go hand and hand. Credit monitoring is a step within an identity theft protection plan or service, but it is not a plan by itself. Your credit report alone is not the only place where identity theft can be spotted, there are many other aspects about your identity, such as medial benefits, social security, your name and address change, online security, your mail etc. Identity theft can strike at any one of these fronts.

Disadvantages of credit monitoring?

Credit monitoring may cost you an average of $200 to $400 a year, for a service that will essentially track changes to your credit reports and detect credit fraud or the potential of it. Monitoring your own credit is something you can do on your own by placing fraud alerts on your credit reports with all three credit bureaus and inspecting your credit entries once every quarter. But for the busy individual of today this is time consuming and rather impractical.

This service will not be able to stop someone from using your social security number in other ways, such as opening utility accounts or phone and wireless accounts under your name. Credit monitoring alone can not protect your identity from medical benefits theft. Even though identity theft insurance is often included with this service, in the case of medical records and benefits, the consequences often can not be resolved with monetary assistance.

If you’re interested in going with credit monitoring services, you should know that you may be charged extra for the monitoring of your credit score, there may also be an allotted number of credit reports and score requests per membership year and any additional ones you request will cost you extra.

Some credit monitoring agencies may claim to offer total credit fraud protection but you need to know if they actually monitor all three credit bureaus or just one, also they may not monitor and review your credit as often as they advertise unless you actually request it. So it’s important to ask what they monitor, how often and from what sources.

Why complete identity theft protection is a better choice

As we aleady mentioned, Identity theft does not only include your credit, it can strike from any angle. You have to realize that your information is out there. Your name, address, and social security number are widely distributed around many different organizations, financial institutions, insurance companies, HR records, public records etc. These are the aspects that can be covered by a complete and sophisticated system of identity theft protection.

If you’re already considering outsourcing the monitoring of your personal information, then don’t hit the “buy” button yet. In order to protect your identity completely, you need to first assess your own identity. Where is your personal information now? Who has your information? Have you ever had a second thought about rendering your personal information, even when you had no choice?

Fraud is everywhere and that’s why your best alternative is to consider a system of identity protection with cutting edge technology that not only watches after your credit accounts, but monitors the thriving online financial black markets where thousands of credit card accounts, social security numbers and other personal information are traded.

When you become a subscriber of identity theft protection services you get not only the benefit listed above, but many other points of identity protection like:

• Renewable fraud alerts
• Removal of your name from junk mail lists and pre-approved credit offers
• Lost or Stolen wallet assistance
• Identity theft recovery assistance
• Monitoring of utility and phone accounts in your name
• Internet and PC security software
• An insurance policy at no extra cost

These and other features are offered with your subscription to identity theft protection services from Trusted ID, Life Lock and Identity Truth. All of which offer a much more affordable and comprehensive suite of security features than credit monitoring alone.