Credit Monitoring Services

Anyone with good to excellent credit should be aware of important changes occurring on their credit profile. Credit monitoring helps to prevent or detect identity theft and credit card fraud in their early stages.

North Shore Advisory Inc. offers an excellent annual credit monitoring program that includes:

• Daily monitoring of all three credit profiles for any changes that might be suspicious like new credit card activity, new addresses posted, credit reviews,  or telephone numbers which could be an indication of fraud.
• Three bureau quarterly email updates.
• Annual in-depth credit analysis by a certified FICO Professional credit expert from NSA.
• Included is your choice of either fraud alerts or a security freeze.

Security Freeze: 

A Security Freeze will put your credit file ‘on ice’ by preventing the information in your credit file from being reported to third parties, such as credit grantors and other companies. With a Security Freeze, lenders will not be able to gain access to your credit file unless you give permission by “thawing” the frozen file using a secret code, similar to a PIN number. This means that it’s unlikely that an identity thief would be able to open a new account in your name.

Keep in mind that even with a Security Freeze, your credit file will still be disclosed in certain situations. For example, companies that you do business with (such as your mortgage, credit card, or cell phone company) will still have access to your credit report, as would collection agencies that are working for one of those companies. Companies will also still be able to offer you prescreened credit. Those are the credit offers you receive in the mail that you have not applied for. Additionally, in some states, potential employers, insurance companies, landlords, and other non-creditors can still get access to your credit report with a Security Freeze in place. 

Fraud alerts:

A Fraud Alert is effective for 90 days. With an Initial Fraud Alert, if you or someone else attempts to open an account in your name, increase the credit limit on an existing account, or obtain a new card on an existing account, the lender will be required to take steps to verify that you have authorized the request. When you place an Initial Fraud Alert on your credit report, you’re entitled to order one free credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit reports.

Speak with a credit expert to learn about pricing and the difference between each product so you can make an educated decision on which option works for you.