I've been a credit card fraud victim and have used several of these monitoring services over the years. I've never found them useful and they haven't prevented new losses.

If you're paranoid about your credit information or have been a victim, use a credit report freeze. But I can't see much value in these monitoring services.

An analogy would be this: one is a big, heavy door with a strong lock, the other is a burglar alarm system.

A credit freeze won't keep someone from stealing your credit card number, but it will keep them from opening an account in your name. You will have to "unfreeze" the account every time you apply for any form of credit, but it should protect you from others creating false credit records in your name.

Credit monitoring won't prevent either problem, it will only tell you when something suspicious happens (i.e. after someone has created a phony account in your name.

Thank you! I am not overly concerned about the identity theft, but would like to be alerted as soon as possible when something on my credit report has changed. I don't really like to wait every 4 months to pull out my annual credit report - I actually tried that and it's a bit of a process (but yes, it is completely free). I find credit monitoring helpful and hassle-free way to stay updated.

Thank you! What is the difference between credit freeze and credit monitoring?

Here are some FiLife resources on freezing your credit record:
http://www.filife.com/guides/how-to-freeze-your-credit-report
http://www.filife.com/answers/whats-the-difference-b/559
http://www.filife.com/answers/temporary-freeze-removal/146

Cancel. Not worth it.

I would:

- credit freeze (all 3 bureaus)
- monitor your credit report every 4 months for free with - http://www.annualcreditreport.com -
- report stolen cards immediately
- monitor card charges and bank postings