Mike Clover asked:




Identity theft is at an all time high as a result of the digital age of paperless transactions and online databases. Why would anyone want to steal someone’s identity? Some people think it is just for the purpose of starting fresh or getting away from their previous life, but the vast majority of identity thieves do it for money. If they have your personal identity information they can also retrieve your banking information, credit card numbers, and more. Those who are using other identities are usually using many identities for the purpose of stealing money from all of them, perhaps by withdrawing funds from their bank or setting up a credit card in their name. The scary thing about identity theft is that the violators have little care that they may be taking everything another individual owns as well as destroying their credit for a number of years. If a victim is unable to detect identity theft for over six months, it can do severe financial damage. You can of course investigate your own credit reports and accounts regularly, or you can pay for a credit monitoring service to investigate for you.

One of the greatest advantages to using a credit monitoring program is the convenience. Instead of living life, constantly paranoid of identity theft, credit monitors can do the worrying for you. Odds are, a monitoring program will also investigate more thoroughly than the average citizen. Monitoring services commonly monitor new account activity, address changes, collection accounts, changes to account information, credit limit increases, credit inquiries, changes in public records, changes in current accounts, and recently closed or flagged accounts. Yes, all of these things can be equally investigated by an eager individual, but routinely checking all of these cues for identity theft can be tedious and unpleasant. Regardless, it is important to check all or more of these areas to keep a close watch on the possibility of identity theft. Early detection is the key to monitoring your credit before the financial loss has become too great, and with an online identity theft monitoring service, you can just go on living life without the burden of becoming a part time investigator.

When considering a monitoring service, you should first consider where that provider receives information. It is most desirable for an identity theft service to obtain information from the three major credit agencies. How often the service monitors your information is also relevant. The frequency of your credit monitoring will increase your chances of early detection. Various services and programs also vary in how often they release reports and give updates, and some provide actual identity theft insurance in the event that they make a mistake and overlook a thief.

There are a host of things to take into account when deciding how to keep a close eye on your credit information. Identity theft is a very real problem that no one believes will really happen, but the reality is that it happens every day. If you choose not to use an online identity theft service or other credit monitoring program get organized so that you can closely monitor the activities associated with your identity. It will save you so many problems in the future.

Leo

PlasticTrees asked:


I’m starting small and working my way up to fix my credit score. I’ve heard that a few won’t hurt you, but last year I applied to 3-4 places in the same month for a credit line. I’ve also heard that if you write to the credit bureau that they will remove them.

Elsie

Jen asked:


Okay, so I am a new college student and have no credit history at all. I heard that credit inquiries (when creditors/lenders pull up your credit report and do a credit check) may affect whether I will get approved for future credit if I get denied. But the thing is, I can’t even access my credit report on ANY of the 3 credit bureaus because I have no credit history at all lol. So doesn’t that mean I can try applying for any amount of credit cards and even if I get denied..the companies won’t know about it since there is no record of anything and they won’t be able to see my report? I tried to pull up my own report on all 3 sites and they all came back saying there is no record. Like, there is no report at all, so I can’t even see the places I’ve applied to and been denied. Thanks
I just want to try applying for a department store card of which I will buy something LITTLE and pay it off in full every month, to build credit.
I just want to emphasize that I have NO CREDIT SCORE xD So my score can’t get any LOWER and I have NO CREDIT REPORT at all so they won’t be able to SEE my credit inquiries.
Hmmm I DID use my correct full name, correct current address, correct social security number, all the info is correct, but I still got no credit report from any of them. They said at the end of the online session that I can request one by mail or phone, but that doesn’t make sense since all my info is correct already.

Juan