Credit Monitoring

Credit monitoring services enable you to stay informed about your financial activities, such as acquiring new loans, obtaining credit cards, or making transactions. It helps detect potential fraud or identity theft early by notifying you via email or text when suspicious changes occur. While it doesn’t prevent fraud, it does enable you to respond quickly to unauthorised actions, protecting your creditworthiness.

These credit score monitoring services also provide insights into your credit-related actions and credit score and help you easily assess your eligibility for loans or credit cards.

Key Takeaways

• These services track your credit reports and alert you of any suspicious activity or changes, helping detect identity theft early.

• Services often include credit score tracking, dark web monitoring, and personalised insights to help manage your credit health.

• It helps you spot errors, manage finances better, and improve credit scores through timely notifications.

• However, the services cannot completely prevent fraud, and you must act promptly when alerts come.

The credit monitoring process entails the following:

1. Opt for credit tracking Service: Begin by selecting a trustworthy credit checking facility that aligns with your financial needs.

2. Receive Notifications: Once enrolled, stay informed about all credit-related activities through regular notifications and alerts.

3. Monitor Loan and Card Applications: Keep a close eye on any new loan accounts, credit card applications, or inquiries made by financial institutions, ensuring nothing goes unnoticed.

4. Identify Inconsistencies: Actively review your credit profile for any discrepancy or suspicious activity that may indicate potential fraud.

5. Prompt Reporting: In case of any anomaly, report it promptly to the relevant authorities to prevent potential fraudulent transactions and safeguard your financial well-being.

6. Protect Credit Score: Timely reporting not only prevents financial harm but also preserves your credit score, ensuring prompt eligibility for personal loans and credit cards in future.

The ways of monitoring your credit are listed below:

• Regular Credit Report Check: Frequently review your credit information report (CIR) for discrepancies and promptly address any inaccuracies by raising a dispute with the credit bureau.

• Monitor Credit Card and Loan Accounts: Stay updated on your active credit cards and loans, and report any unfamiliar accounts appearing on your credit report.

• Alerts on Applications: Keep a close eye on messages or emails containing loan/credit card application numbers to detect unauthorised applications. Report any discrepancies in transactions immediately.

• Utilise Third-party Apps: Regularly check your credit score. Investigate any unexpected declines by examining your credit report for discrepancies. You could use Bajaj Markets to check your CIBIL score.

• Automated Credit checking Services: Subscribe to services that automatically track your credit reports and alert you to changes in real time via email or SMS.

• Free Monitoring by Credit Card Issuers or Banks: Many financial institutions offer free credit monitoring as a perk to their customers.

Monitoring your credit provides several advantages that help protect and manage your financial health. Here are some benefits that highlight the need for credit monitoring:

• Could Prevent Identity Theft: Through regular updates and continuous tracking of credit score, you stay aware of all changes impacting your credit report. If you witness any strange activity, you can take swift action to address the discrepancy. If inconsistencies arise, raise a dispute with the credit bureau or inform the relevant financial institution.

• Personalised Alerts: These credit check services let you receive regular updates that are communicated as personalised alerts to you. From potential fraudulent transactions to fluctuations in your credit score, each update is conveyed. 

• Improves Financial Control: By monitoring your credit score regularly, you can optimally analyse and manage your spending, make informed decisions, and focus on enhancing your credit score.

• Tracking of Credit Enquiries: Lenders raise queries to assess your credit score before approving loans or credit cards. Monitoring your credit keeps a track of all credit inquiries made by banks or lenders on your behalf, preventing any unauthorised or fraudulent financing attempts.

• Credit File Locking: Certain services allow you to lock or unlock your credit report instantly through mobile apps. This feature adds an extra layer of security when you are not actively seeking credit.

• Flags Property and Address Frauds: Monitoring services can alert you to suspicious activities such as unauthorised property transfers or address changes, protecting your assets and personal identity from fraud.

Monitoring your credit information provides early signs of credit downfalls, if any. This may be more useful for:

• Individuals who have been victims of identity theft or fraud.

• Individuals who have experienced data breaches of important documents/accounts.

• Elderly individuals, who are often targeted due to less familiarity with digital security and apps.

• Borrowers who are seeking credit and applying for loans and financing applications.

• Consumers who want to monitor their credit health to maintain or improve their credit scores.

• Individuals indulging in shopping and entertainment frequently, hoping to manage expenses by tracking them.

• Anyone who wants early alerts for suspicious activities such as new accounts, increased balances, or unusual credit inquiries.

Although credit tracking is a valuable tool, it has certain limitations. Below are some areas where it may not offer complete protection:

• It cannot fully protect your personal information from credit card fraud or hacking

• It can notify you of suspicious activity, but it cannot prevent someone from using your identity to apply for credit

• It does not correct errors in your credit report; you must identify and raise disputes for inaccuracies

• It cannot file complaints or take corrective action on your behalf in the event of a fraud

• It does not safeguard your personal data from security breaches or data leaks

• It cannot prevent your credit card from being skimmed at physical stores or online platforms

• It does not have the capability to freeze your credit file or automatically resolve credit-related issues

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allows one free credit report to be viewed once a calendar year from each of the four authorised credit bureaus: CIBIL (TransUnion), Experian, Equifax, and CRIF High Mark.