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Identity theft is a crime that can wreak havoc on your finances and do severe damage to your credit score. Sadly, it occurs far too often, and even the most vigilant consumer can end up becoming a victim.
Data breaches, lost wallets, and even mail theft can put your personal information into the hands of criminals. With this personal information, these criminals can then apply for new credit cards, loans, and other accounts in your name.
To help address the problem of identity theft, credit reporting agencies offer individuals in vulnerable positions credit monitoring services. Read below to find out what this service is, how it can help you, and where it falls short, as well.
Credit monitoring is a paid service that helps you keep track of changes to your credit report. Whenever a change occurs, the credit monitoring service provider will notify you. As an example, if a lender conducts an inquiry on your credit report to process a loan application, you’ll receive an email or mobile notification alerting you of the action. Credit monitoring services track a wide variety of changes that impact your credit report, including late payments, credit score changes, new accounts, and updates to your personal information.
Yes and no. Credit monitoring is a reactive solution rather than a proactive solution to identity theft. There aren’t any safeguards in place that actually prevent unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of stolen information. The monitoring system in place only alerts you to changes that appear on your credit report – it’s up to you to take action to remedy any unauthorized charges or credit checks.
Credit monitoring services can lull you into a false sense of security, convincing you that your personal information is safe when it’s still vulnerable. However, it does serve a useful function by sending you fraud alerts, allowing you to take swift action to rectify any fraudulent activity.
Interested in getting fraud alerts? Check out our list of credit monitoring services.
Monthly Price | Features | |
TransUnion | $24.95 | – Get key credit report alerts – Unlimited access to credit report and score -Personalized debt and credit analysis and advice – $50,000 identity theft insurance |
Equifax | $19.95 or $29.95 | – Identity theft insurance – Identity restoration – Lost Wallet Assistance – WebScan – Credit Score Trend |
Borrowell | Free | – AI credit coach – Product recommendations |
First Report | $12.99 or $19.99 | – Monitors both credit reports – Monthly credit scores, quarterly credit reports – Historical scan – ID restoration |
Marble Premium | $29.99 | – Credit Scores Simulator – Budget Simulator – Track Spending |
ID Assist | $14.99 or $19.99 | – Monitors both credit reports – Monthly credit scores, quarterly credit reports – Historical scan – ID restoration |
Though criminal identity theft tactics are growing increasingly sophisticated, there are many things you can do to mitigate the risk of becoming a victim, such as:
However, if your information has already been stolen, there’s little you can do to prevent it from being used by criminals. Your best plan of attack is to habitually monitor your credit report, bank statements, and credit card statements for suspicious items. Should you discover evidence of fraudulent activity, submit a dispute with the credit agencies right away.
No one is immune to identity theft. If your identity has been stolen, remember to not be hard on yourself or allow anxiety and fear to dominate you. Follow the steps below to remedy the harm done and prevent the situation from escalating further:
Though credit monitoring has its flaws and limitations, the service effectively warns you of fraudulent activity on your credit report, allowing you to take action to erase it from your credit history. Unfortunately, credit monitoring doesn’t directly stop identity theft, nor does it act as a deterrent against thieves.
A better alternative to credit monitoring is a credit freeze, enabling you to lock your credit file, preventing anyone from opening an account or performing a credit inquiry. Sadly, credit freezes are currently not available in Canada. However, with identity theft becoming an increasingly common problem, public pressure could eventually require credit agencies to offer free credit freezes for all Canadians.
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Loans Canada is pleased to announce it placed No. 131 on the 2022 Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies.
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