Experts Agree That The Best Protection Against Identity Theft / ID Fraud Is Frequent Monitoring Of Your Credit File.
Unfortunately there is not one “fail proof” way to protect your identity. You could take every precaution possible and still fall victim to Identity Theft / Identity Fraud. The identity thief could be an employee at your job, doctor’s office, post office, restaurant, government agency or even a family member. That is why it is essential to constantly monitor your credit file. The earlier you are able to detect Identity Fraud, the better chance you have to minimize the damage.
To monitor your credit file, you have a few options:
- Manually obtain your credit report and review it on a periodic basis – You are entitled to a free annual credit report from each of the 3 credit reporting agencies i.e. Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
- Use a Credit Monitoring service – A good credit monitoring service will monitor your credit file frequently and notify you when changes are made to your credit file. That way you can determine if the changes are legitimate or fraudulent.
I personally use both of these methods. I download and review my free annual credit report from each of the credit reporting agencies and I also have a credit monitoring service that sends me email notifications whenever changes are made to my credit file.
There is a lot of discussion as to whether or not you really need a credit monitoring service. For me personally I understand the importance of the “time factor” when trying to minimize the results of having your identity stolen as well as to being able to restore your identity. It is true that you can get a free annual report, but checking my credit file once a year is not good enough for me.
One of the factors that I looked at when choosing a credit reporting agency was based on their experience and knowledge in order to help me restore my identity in the event that it was stolen. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) they estimate the time needed to recover from identity theft on average is six months and 200 hours of work! Some credit monitoring services just give you some forms and send you on your way. I wanted a credit monitoring service that has the experience and knowledge to help me with the identity restoration process.
A few months ago I got an email notification stating that an auto repossession had just been noted on my credit file. I was shocked seeing that I had an older car that had already been paid off, plus I never had an auto loan with the bank that was stated on my credit file. A quick call to my credit monitoring agency and they were able to walk me through the whole process as well as to check some other national databases for any additional fraudulent entries. Within a short amount of time I was able to resolve it. Turns out a few months later, I was in the market for a new car. If I didn’t receive that notification on the repossession and get it resolved, I would have been blind sided at the auto dealer!
After doing some research, I ended up choosing Identity Theft Shield from LegalShield. I liked the fact that their low monthly fee cover up to 2 people (i.e spouse or significant other). As well as the fact that they work with KROLL a global leader in fraud investigation and risk management. The bottom line is that you need to monitor your credit file frequently. That is your best defense against Identity Theft / Identity Fraud. For more information in Identity Theft Shield please click on the banner.