It is very easy to get confused about the whole concept of credit protection. One of our most asked questions is always about people’s credit cards and how they may be affected.
Identity protection services have very little to do with your current credit cards.
The focus of these ID protection programs is to monitor new credit applications and to make double sure it is you the new credit is being extended to, and not an ID thief. Identity thieves usually don’t steal your existing credit lines; they steal your credit availability and then convert it to their own use.
The root of this tree is called the FACT Act, a major provision of which, allows you to establish a sort of live monitoring of your credit availability. This allows you to more actively monitor and control the granting of new credit in your name.
Wait, it’s your credit right? Yes, but the reality is, although it’s your credit, it effectively is sitting in storage. Additional credit, or buying power, sits dormant until you get it out of storage. Like anything that sits in storage, your credit can be stolen.
What you effectively need is an alarm system for your stored credit, and that’s what credit protection companies like LifeLock provide.
Human nature dictates that we all have a tendency to focus more on possessions of value after they have been stolen than to keep them from being stolen in the first place. The concept of insurance is sort of counter intuitive. Some of us, realizing the risks, will cover our assets, others won’t. That is the way people are, some will and some won’t.
Do yourself and your family a big favor and at least get a good understanding about how credit theft can occur, as well as what alternatives are available to you for protection. If you examine the credit theft statistics and information and decide to pass on this extra protection that’s your choice. Just be sure you always make educated decisions when it comes to your credit.