Credit Bureau Fraud Alert

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One of the ways you can protect yourself against having your identity stolen is to use a credit bureau fraud alert. Generally, you can place an identity theft alert on your credit reports if you have a suspicion that you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. Used correctly, fraud alerts are a vital part of any identity theft monitoring program. However, not everyone is eligible to place a fraud alert with the credit agencies. Fortunately, there are other ways to help ensure your personal information doesn't end up in the hands of criminals.

While a credit bureau fraud alert is used by those who have had their identities stolen, there are steps you can take to help protect against credit identity theft in the first place. In addition to the things you do in your daily life to protect your personal information, consider using an identity protection company, such as TrustedID, to help to protect your personal information against misuse by criminals looking to benefit monetarily from it.

Credit Bureau Fraud Alert

When you are, or think you are about to become, a victim of identity theft, part of the identity theft monitoring process is to file a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus. This causes any new creditors to see the identity theft alert and contact you prior to issuing new credit using your personal information. This means that only you should be able to open up new accounts with your information when your credit files have been flagged for suspicious activity.

However, fraud alerts are not available to most people, so you have to use other methods to help protect yourself from credit identity theft. There are two things that you should be doing to help protect your personal information from misuse - take precautions in your daily life when dealing with your personal information and use an identity theft protection service to help protect your identity.

When it comes to your personal information, make sure that you only share it with people and organizations that have a valid need for it. Otherwise, guard your personal and financial records as if they were precious goods, because they are. Keep this information to yourself, or in a secure place, and always dispose of personal and financial documents properly (as in shred them). Your first line of defense is always how you handle your personal data, so make sure you don't freely give it out to just anyone.

Through various means, an identity protection service will monitor the use of your personal information, including watching black markets to see if your information is being sold or traded, and alert you if there is a chance your identity has been stolen or is in the hands of criminals. See the below comparison table to see what services the leading identity theft monitoring solutions offer you to help protect your personal information from being used for nefarious purposes.

Identity Theft Monitoring

For pennies a day, you can use an identity theft protection service to monitor your personal information to alert you if someone unauthorized is using it for purposes other than what you would wish. Combine this service with your daily efforts to limit the exposure of your personal information to help protect your identity from misuse. You are the only person that should be using your personally identifying information, so take the necessary steps to help protect it from being used for some else's financial gain.

Use a service, such as TrustedID, as an additional measure to reduce the chance that you become a victim of identity theft. While there is no way to completely eliminate the threat of having your identity stolen, there are certain steps you can take to reduce your exposure. Isn't it worth a few dollars a month to reduce the chances of having your identity used by criminals for their own gain?

It is ultimately your responsibility to ensure that your personal information is secured and not easily used by criminal elements to fatten their pocketbooks. The smart consumer will take steps in their daily life to do as much as they can to protect their identity, and they will have technology on their side to monitor the use of their personal data. Use one of the below services to aid your personal efforts to secure your identity and sleep well knowing that you are doing what you can to make sure you don't become the next personal who has their identity stolen.

Credit Bureaus Fraud Alert Alternatives Compared

Identity Theft Monitoring Plan Includes:
	Read Review	Read Review	Read Review
Personal Plan Price (if paid monthly)	N/A	$10	$9.99
Personal Plan Price (if paid yearly)	$125 ($10.42/month)	$110	$99.95
Family Plan Price (if paid monthly)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Family Plan Price (if paid yearly)	$240 ($20/month)	N/A	N/A
FREE, No-obligation 14-day Trial
Service Guarantee	$1 Million Service Warranty	$1 Million Total Service Guarantee**	100% Service Guarantee
Cancel Anytime	50% refund within first 180 days (after trial period)		3-month minimum
Credit Report	3-Bureau	Annual 3-Bureau	Experian Only
NEW! 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring
NEW! 3-Bureau Credit Score
Customer Support	24x7 phone & email	24x7 phone & email	M-F phone & email
Identity Threat Score
Lost Wallet Help
Medical Benefits Protection
Removal From Junk Mail Lists
Check Multiple Sources for Personal Information Use (bank account & credit card numbers, Social Security Number, name & address use, public databases, etc.)
Overall Rating

**Guarantee applies only if you become an ID theft victim because of a failure in the LifeLock service. Other restrictions apply. See LifeLock.com for details.