What is identity protection and Credit Monitoring Services?

 Identity protection is a term that refers to any security measure which helps prevent your personal information, such as social security numbers and credit card numbers, from being seen by unauthorized third parties. If the wrong people were to get your personal information then they could steal your identity and incur a lot of debt in your name that you will be responsible for. But when you take measures to protect your identity, you are preventing someone from doing this.

       

Identity Protection Online

Identity protection is most commonly associated with ecommerce and digital transactions over the internet. Any time you make a purchase online through a secure website, the personal and financial information you entered becomes encrypted as it is being processed through the server. The encryption will prevent any hackers or outside intruders from seeing this sensitive information. Modern day browsers let users know when they are on an encrypted page because a green padlock icon will appear on the top. This indicates 256-bit encryption, which is the most powerful encryption available on the internet.

Take Precautions

        Identity protection doesn’t always refer to security technology. It can also mean the simple measures that one takes to protect their own identity. This includes using your credit card only with merchants that you trust. It could also mean shredding all of your bank statements or other sensitive information that you no longer need anymore. Some identity thieves actually like to go through people’s garbage to steal their information. So a good investment into identity protection would be a paper shredder. Get creative and take personal measures like these to ensure your identity is protected.

Credit Monitoring Services

Credit monitoring services are usually offered by credit bureaus or credit management platforms, such as CREDITCHECKTOTAL.com. These services will keep track of your credit report every day and notify you if there is a significant change on the report. This change could be an updated credit score, an added debt account, or a judgment filed against you. If your identity were stolen then the first thing a thief would do is use your identity to take out credit cards or loans in your name. It is best to find this out as soon as possible so you can notify your bank and the credit bureaus that your identity was stolen. Otherwise, you will find out the hard way when the debt collector calls you or knocks on your door. By then, it will be too late because the debt owed will be enormous and you will likely be required to pay it all back. That is why credit monitoring services are so important. They will let you know whenever a new debt account is taken out in your name. If you didn’t authorize it then you know your identity was stolen.

Credit Monitoring Notifications

        When you sign up for a credit monitoring service through Experian, Equifax, CREDITCHECKTOTAL.com or any of the other credit management platforms, you will be given a choice as to how you want to receive your notifications. You can have the alerts sent to your email address or as a text message to your Smartphone. Choose the notification method that you check the most, which would likely be a text message because it will come right to your mobile phone wherever you are.