It’s scary to think that in the past several years some 40+ million Americans have had their identities stolen, which is a staggering 2 out of 5 individuals. Although you probably shouldn’t be losing sleep over this fact it does illustrate how important credit monitoring services are in this day and age. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people don’t realize how prevalent identity theft is and therefore don’t take the proper measures to protect themselves.
Experian offers a lot of different services with great benefits. CreditWorks monitors your Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion credit report ever single 24 hour period. Whenever there is a change to your credit report (any of the 3) you are notified. This way you can see what is going on with your credit. If something changes, you’ll be alerted. If it wasn’t you that did the action being shown you are able to take measures to ensure that that detail is taken care of and removed from your report.
Benefits of Using Experian CreditWorks
- Free basic membership
- FICO credit score tracking
- Experian CreditBoost
- Negatives of Using Experian CreditWorks
- No credit card account or bank account monitoring service
- Relatively high monthly subscription costs
- Relatively high rates of negative user reviews
- What Does Experian CreditWorks Offer
1. Monitoring of all 3 Federal Credit Bureaus
You get daily monitoring of all three major credit reports. Whenever a change occurs you are alerted, be that positive or negative across all three federal credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax). You’re able to see what changes have been made and if you didn’t make a change you’ve been alerted about you can take measures to rectify it as it could be a sign of identity theft. It also allows you to make smarter decisions regarding your credit usage as if if you’re approaching or having your credit card balances too high you’ll be alerted and you can change your purchasing patterns.
2. $1,000,000 Identity Theft Protection
If you are targeted for identity theft this protection plan can refund you up to a full one million dollars based on your losses. There is no deductible fee and the protection insurance covers you for things like:
- Legal fees
- Lost wages
- Travel expenses
- Electronic fund transfers
If you are preyed on with identity theft you can rest assured you have a measure of protection those not using CreditWorks do not.
3. Monthly Updates from all 3 Federal Credit Bureaus
Receive updates regarding your Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax credit reports every month as well as your FICO score. This is important because very often the 3 credit bureaus will have different information or scores across the board for an individual. If you see differences it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the victim of identity theft and could likely be an error on one of the reports.
But even if that information is inaccurate it can negatively affect your credit score and you’ll want to take proper action to rectify it. Disputes to your credit reports can take a while to be addressed and fixed so it’s good to get started immediately when you notice something off.
4. Experian Credit Report Updates Every Day
Even though you get monthly updates on Equifax and TransUnion credit reports, if you use Experian’s CreditWorks you get updates every single day regarding your Experian credit report. It’s great to use as a security measure so you’re always aware of what is going on with your Experian credit report.
5. Dedicated Support When You Need It
Experian’s customer service is always available when you need it. If you have questions or notice problems with your account you can get help. If you are the victim of identity theft you’ll be assigned an agent who specialized in fraud resolution to help you every step of the way. But you can call anytime with questions or concerns you have not just in a worst-case scenario.
6. Lock Your Credit Report from Inquiries with CreditLock
This service allows you to control who is able to access your credit report. This single aspect of the service can help prevent you from being a victim of identity theft. This way if someone tries to apply for some sort of credit in your name it is locked and cannot be accessed. When you are ready to apply for something you simply turn off the CreditLock. When the application is finished then you simply turn it back on, all by “flipping a switch” in your account. Similar to debit card locking on many bank accounts.
7. Lost Wallet Assistance
Provide your critical information to the online system like debit and credit card info, medical information, and more. If you lose your wallet, at home, or traveling (anywhere on earth for that matter), use the lost wallet assistance service and get paired with a fraud resolution agent. They will help you:
- Contact your banks, creditors, and service providers to let them know of the lost documents.
- Cancel and replace your debit and credit cards
- Freeze access to your credit reports and any files.
- Put fraud alerts on your credit and debit bank accounts.
- Contact government agencies where necessary (in case of lost passport, etc).
They also provide Social Security number protection and monitoring, dark web monitoring, and identity validation.
8. Powerful Online Account & Dashboard
Easy to access and with all of the features in one convenient place. You see all of your credit activity in an easy to read online format that you can access from anywhere 24/7 365 days a year. Conduct all of your credit business from here. Monitor your reports, lock your credit reports, get help when you need, it and so much more. Also available on your smartphone.
Verdict: Experian CreditWorks
This is a great service for anyone looking to tick all the boxes when it comes to monitoring and building their credit safely. The protection measures are superb should you need to use them. The daily and monthly updates keep you one step ahead of your credit journey. We recommend this product for everyone looking to keep themselves protected on their financial journey.