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Do you think credit monitoring prevents identity theft? Think again.

In the wake of the recent Target data breach, in which identity thieves gained access to the personal information of at least 70 million customers, the company announced that it would offer free credit monitoring for one year. While this is a good first step for the retail giant, it gives affected customers false hope.

At first glance, credit monitoring seems like an attractive service. After all, it helps detect suspicious activity on your credit report and alerts you to potential problems. But many credit monitoring companies market their service as an identity theft protection plan. This is simply not the case.

The reality is that credit monitoring is exactly what it says it is: monitoring. It does not prevent identity theft or credit hijacking. Considering the fact that one in four recipients of data breach notifications becomes a victim of identity theft, simply monitoring these attacks is not enough. You must take proactive steps to protect both your credit and your identity.

Credit monitoring gives a false sense of security

Credit monitoring services alert you when any type of new account appears on your credit report. Unfortunately, at this time identity theft has already happened often. Credit supervision did not prevent theft; it simply notified you of the fraudulent activity so that you could begin the long process of trying to repair your credit.

Consider credit monitoring as a small part of a comprehensive identity theft protection plan. Keep in mind that although you receive an alert when there are changes to your credit report, some events can go unnoticed or even misreported. Many consumers don’t find out that their identity has been stolen until debt collectors show up at the door.

The same goes for the three-in-one services offered by monitoring all three credit reporting agencies. These methods are not secure because an identity thief can still open accounts in your name without your credit report being removed. There is also a long delay between when an account is opened and when it appears on your credit report. By the time he is notified, the identity thief could have dozens of accounts open and racking up debt.

Tips to prevent identity theft

You need an identity theft protection plan to prevent thieves from using your information in the first place. Some advices:

• Be proactive and sign up for identity theft protection with ID Theft Solutions, the only law enforcement company that restores your identity to its pre-theft state.

• Be careful about the websites you visit and the Internet connections you use to access them. Public networks are not secure, and identity thieves can easily access your computer, email accounts, and bank accounts.

• Never share personal information via email, over the phone, or with anyone you don’t know well. Identity thieves like to pose as customer service representatives and ask to verify your date of birth, social security number, or other personal information. If you are not expecting contact, hang up and call the company again at a phone number you can trust.

• Lock up your financial and medical information and shred documents you no longer need.

• Implement a credit freeze and check your credit card statements at least once a month for suspicious activity. You can also sign up at CreditKarma.com to check your credit score and also receive monthly monitoring for free, without your credit being affected in any way.

• Add a fraud alert to your credit report if you suspect you are at risk of fraud (like using a debit or credit card during the Target data breach debacle).

Whatever you do, don’t just rely on credit monitoring for your identity theft protection plan. With a new victim every three seconds, identity theft is a growing problem that shows no signs of abating.

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