Those television commercials will scare you into paying for some kind of ID Theft protection from one (or all, depending on your level of paranoia) of the three major credit reporting bureaus (Experian, Trans-Union, Equifax). Since Congress unfettered these agencies from the constraints of selling credit products to the consuming-public, ID Theft protection and credit score watch (allegedly to make your credit history better) are the hot products that consumers fork over cash money for each month in the form of “ID Theft” prevention monitoring and whatnot. Usually the fees are in the range of $10-15 a month, but they can be higher, $25-40 depending on the level of monitoring the consumer desires.
The problem I have with all these services is that the savvy consumer, by spending just a little time each year (and almost NO money) can pretty much get the same level of protection without subscribing to anything nor sending money to the credit bureaus.
Here’s a link to the Federal Trade Commission website that has a wonderful pdf brochure on all you need to know about Identity Theft and how to protect yourself against ID Theft. It’s FREE and it’s here: FTC: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft
Take some time to read the information, then set yourself on the path to protecting your Identity FREE of CHARGE.
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