# Are credit monitoring companies really that helpful?



## debodun (Aug 15, 2019)

What can they do that you can't do for yourself? Are they just taking advantage of panicky people's fears?


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## Don M. (Aug 15, 2019)

Given that the average household has thousands of dollars in credit card debt, etc., and most of them just make the minimum payments, they need someone to monitor their finances, because its obvious that they can't do it themselves.


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## mathjak107 (Aug 15, 2019)

Don M. said:


> Given that the average household has thousands of dollars in credit card debt, etc., and most of them just make the minimum payments, they need someone to monitor their finances, because its obvious that they can't do it themselves.


 
i have no clue what that has to do with credit monitoring for fraud


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## Don M. (Aug 15, 2019)

mathjak107 said:


> i have no clue what that has to do with credit monitoring for fraud



I often see people at a store checkout who pull a credit card wallet out of their pocket, or purse...containing a dozen, or more credit cards.  I doubt that these people monitor their accounts routinely looking for any suspicious activity.  These types of people Need a monitoring service to keep track of all their various account transactions.


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## mathjak107 (Aug 15, 2019)

Don M. said:


> I often see people at a store checkout who pull a credit card wallet out of their pocket, or purse...containing a dozen, or more credit cards.  I doubt that these people monitor their accounts routinely looking for any suspicious activity.  These types of people Need a monitoring service to keep track of all their various account transactions.


That makes sense ...the minimum payment reference was what made no sense .

The monitoring services also come with monetary protection...but they don’t cover the fraud ...they cover any costs of getting the fraud corrected ....credit cards are simple to deal with when it comes to fraud ...identity fraud is another thing ...it can require a pro and help ....we went through it and it took months and hours of time .

Keep in mind credit monitoring only applies to consumer credit ..if someone takes a commercial loan it does not go through the consumer credit bureaus ....the web is filled with commercial loan horror stories involving Identity  theft


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## win231 (Aug 15, 2019)

Don M. said:


> I often see people at a store checkout who pull a credit card wallet out of their pocket, or purse...containing a dozen, or more credit cards.  I doubt that these people monitor their accounts routinely looking for any suspicious activity.  These types of people Need a monitoring service to keep track of all their various account transactions.


Those shoppers are probably unaware of what can happen when they pull all those cards out.  (I found out, but it didn't cost me anything).  People can buy a small scanner for a few bucks online & they can read your credit card info from 25 feet away.  They can even read it while it's in your wallet, pocket or purse unless you have an RFID - blocking wallet.  Then they can charge & charge.  I learned that a couple of years ago when my credit card statement had $800.00 worth of stuff from Target that I never bought.  The scanner can also read everything on your Driver's License, or any card that has a strip on it.
I immediately threw away my wallet & got an RFID - blocking wallet & I also don't take the card out until everything is totaled & ready for the card, then I put it back in my wallet as soon as the charge is approved.  Minimizes the time for scanning.


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## twinkles (Aug 15, 2019)

i dont like these credit cards with the chip in them --you dont even sign it or show i d


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