Today’s post is all about the best credit monitoring services. You might be asking yourself, what is a credit monitoring service and why should I need one? Credit monitoring is a way of protecting yourself against identity fraud and theft of money from your accounts. If this is something you are concerned about, read on to find out more.
What credit monitoring can do for you.
There’s talk all around about credit monitoring. But what exactly is it? Some people even say it is a bullet proof vest to stop identity theft. Can it really be that effective?
There is a range of services that fall under the umbrella term credit monitoring. This ranges from the labor intensive services that actively watch you credit closely, to less intensive services that give you alerts to changes. The bottom line is that credit monitoring is an around the clock monitoring of your finances, a level of vigilance and scrutiny that would be impossible on your own.
If you worry about identity theft, this is a step you can take to protect yourself. Unfortunately, in 2017 identity theft isn’t going away.
The research is alarming. In 2014 18% of adults had some sort of their personal data stolen. Then there are high profile cases such as the health insurance company Anthem which suffered a data breach leaking over 80 million patient records.
To arm yourself more effectively against fraudsters you can try credit monitoring. We have compiled some of the best credit monitoring services to keep your finances secure in 2017.
Identity Guard
Commonly ranked as one of the best credit monitoring services around, IdentityGuard definitely deserves a place high in our list. They have a comprehensive system that monitors any changes in your credit score as well as one of the best ID theft protection systems in the security industry.
Pricing begins at $9.99 per month and goes up to $25 per month for the most comprehensive protection. They also offer a plan to keep your children’s information safe.
If identity theft does strike, IdentityGuard gives you the services to get you back on your feet fast. They have a dedicated hotline where you can get through to a trained expert who can help you put the pieces together. They also offer lost-wallet protection and $1 million in ID theft insurance.
A summary of their excellent features:
- Alerts for account take-overs
- 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring
- $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance
- Social Security Number Monitoring
- Account Takeover Alerts
The only drawback I think with IdentityGuard is that they don’t include address-change monitoring in their cheapest plan, unlike many of their rivals.
IdentityForce
IdentityForce offers a comprehensive monitoring service from $19.95 per month. With the UltraSecure+Credit plan they will monitor all three credit bureaus and notify you if any changes happen with your account. The monthly statement about the state of affairs with your credit files is a nice touch.
Like IdentityGuard, they are also offering ID protection. This is pretty comprehensive and keeps a check on credit reports, payday loans, court records, address changes and even the sex offender list to make sure your info is not being used without your knowledge.
Let’s hope it never happens, but if you are a victim of ID fraud, then having a plan with IdentityForce could potentially be a lifesaver. You get 24/7 access to ID restoration specialists who can save you time and heart ache by doing your paper work, making phone calls on your behalf and doing the heavy lifting to ensure your identity is restored.
LifeLock from IdentityForce will help protect your family too. It involves identity monitoring, proactive credit monitoring and ID insurance for your children. This is an optional add-on to the UltraSecure and UltraSecure+Credit plans.
Here’s a highlight of what they are providing:
- Wallet protection in the event of you losing your wallet.
- $1 million ID theft insurance.
- ID restoration specialists.
- Identity threat detection and alerts.
- Court records and sex-offender monitoring.
- 3 bureau credit monitoring.
The comprehensive service from IdentityForce is undoubtedly one of the best credit monitoring services.
LifeLock
Lastly, among the best credit monitoring services we have to include LifeLock. They offer a comprehensive service. This includes such things as monitoring applications for bank accounts, credit cards, utilities and other services. They have an extensive network of connections that allows them to successful track any attempts to use your personal information. They stay vigilant, and watch out for threats against your finances, giving you added peace of mind, and real security.
When suspicious activity is detected, LifeLock will alert you by phone and email and help you to take steps to deal with what is happening. Also, they offer wallet protection as part of their plan, which helps to replace contents and cancel cards rapidly, with one call. This can be a lifesaver if you a are a frequent traveller.
Not only that, by LifeLock also actively monitors black-market websites where ID thieves buy and sell stolen info. If your information surfaces here, you are immediately notified. They’ll also work with the credit bureaus on your behalf to reduce the influx of irritating pre-approved credit card offers by taking your name off their mailing lists. That alone might be worth the price!
These features are available both at the $9.99 per month plan and the $19.99 per month plan. The $19.99 plan also includes fictitious identity monitoring, data breach notifications and credit reports from one bureau. Lastly with the $29.99 plan you get credit reports from all three bureaus, sex-offender tracking and monthly credit score tracking.
They also have a LifeLock Junior plan for your kids.
Verdict
Identity theft can ruin lives. People who have been through this say they wouldn’t wish it on their worst enemies. I feel that if your identity is vulnerable, then you really ought to think about taking steps to protect yourself and your family. That’s what the best credit monitoring services can do for you. They can also give you peace of mind, if ID theft is something that is causing you to panic. At the end of the day, the monthly fee isn’t too much to pay if it lets you sleep more soundly.
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