Difference Between Credit and ID Protection Services
What are the differences between credit monitoring, fraud alerts and credit freezes?
With the multitude of identity protection options on the market, it can be confusing to differentiate between the various offerings and what is most appropriate for you.
A common protection that is offered by banks, credit card companies and the credit bureaus themselves are credit monitoring services. A credit monitoring service will notify you if any unusual or suspicious activity appears on your credit report. While it is good practice to periodically review your credit report for any inaccuracies, credit monitoring services DO NOT ACTUALLY STOP IDENTITY THEFT– IT ONLY ALERTS YOU TO THE FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY AFTER THE DAMAGE IS DONE.
A fraud alert acts to stop identity theft before it happens.
- Your credit file gets flagged with the three major credit bureaus that alert lenders that they must verify your identity before granting an application for new or additional credit.
- When an application is submitted for new credit, the lender will typically call you at the number placed with your credit report and ask you a series of questions to verify your identity.
- IDFreeze, TrustedID’s flagship product, places fraud alerts on your behalf with the three major credit bureaus and automatically renews them every 90 days to ensure that you are protected at all times.
A credit freeze adds the maximum level of protection to your credit.
- A credit freeze literally locks its accessibility from lenders, who automatically pull your report when reviewing your loan or credit application.
- Once this freeze is in place, the major credit bureaus cannot release your credit report to third parties without your permission. Since creditors won’t grant new credit until they can see your credit report, identity thieves can’t open new accounts in your name.
- If you are applying for a new loan or application your credit must first be unlocked, and the process of locking and unlocking your credit can take time and official requests sent via certified mail to each of the three major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax and Transunion.
- TrustedID makes the locking and unlocking of your credit easy for you by offering CreditLock, an option that is available with your IDFreeze subscription. TrustedID’s On-Call Protection Specialists contact the three major credit bureaus on your behalf and handle all the work, making the locking and unlocking of your credit easy for you.
