I got a call from my bank (Chase) that someone had called in with my name, SSN, DOB, and a few other publicly available details and was able to successfully redeem a bunch of reward points. Thankfully Chase caught it and will reverse, but the agent said this is a new pattern where thieves start with reward points to test (less scrutiny I suppose) and then will try for main accounts.

I've changed my usernames and passwords and cancelled the impacted credit cards. The Chase agent highly recommended a fraud monitoring service and reporting to the credit bureaus.

Any recommendations on good but inexpensive monitoring services?

Thanks!

Not sure credit monitoring would have helped here to be honest. Like others said freeze your credit. Keep the login info, by the way. You'll have to thaw it whenever you need to borrow money but you can schedule those for a range of dates so it's pretty convenient.

As to rewards we don't do points so this won't apply if you do but sweep the cash out each statement cycle and put it in a high yield savings. We have a balance closing in on $5k and it's all rewards cash plus interest. Not a lot of money but it's better than interest free in Chase's hands.

Great notes. Thank you! It was pretty easy to freeze the credit accounts. Then it made me wonder why this isn't the default? Oh well. Thanks!

Like several have said, credit monitoring is pretty useless.

Someone opened a bunch of credit cards, leased an apartment and signed up for utilities using my info when I was paying for monitoring.

It was another credit card company that wasn't manned by morons who clued in and notified me.

When I was cleaning it up, a couple of the companies admitted that they were suspicious about the applications, but they approved them. Couldn't believe that!

The company that caught it said they did so because I was a prior cardholder, and they noticed the application had the wrong maiden name.

The person was several states away and in one I had never lived -- and none of that ever triggered the credit monitoring. The fraud was going on for over half a year.

Lesson learned that these services may make one feel better, but they probably don't help at all and lead to a false sense of security.

EmberAggie said:

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Like several have said, credit monitoring is pretty useless.

Someone opened a bunch of credit cards, leased an apartment and signed up for utilities using my info when I was paying for monitoring.

It was another credit card company that wasn't manned by morons who clued in and notified me.

When I was cleaning it up, a couple of the companies admitted that they were suspicious about the applications, but they approved them. Couldn't believe that!

The company that caught it said they did so because I was a prior cardholder, and they noticed the application had the wrong maiden name.

The person was several states away and in one I had never lived -- and none of that ever triggered the credit monitoring. The fraud was going on for over half a year.

Lesson learned that these services may make one feel better, but they probably don't help at all and lead to a false sense of security.

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What credit monitoring were you using?

I overall agree with credit monitoring not being worth it, as I don't have it. But for a few years I was with a company that offered it as a benefit (free). The system was pretty good at notifying me anytime anything changed on my credit. Did a soft hit for a potential home, was notified, etc.

I can't imagine someone opening credit cards in your name and your credit monitoring not notifying you. That's like the basis and bread and butter of what they do.

P.H. Dexippus said:

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Freeze your credit and leave it that way. But credit monitoring is largely a scam IMO.

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if you're trying to get a new credit card you have to unfreeze it temporarily?

JSKolache said:

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Freeze credit with the bureaus

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you're saying this is a way to protect from someone else getting a credit card in your name, correct?

nobody will be able to open new lines of credit if it's frozen (including you)

The best way to counter fraud is to monitor your accounts. Set alerts to your phone. Review your statements. And bank with a bank that has a robust fraud department. My wife was in Mexico with our 3 daughters, bought dinner with her BoA card, 30 minutes later I got a call about possible fraud BC she wasn't answering her phone, a 2nd dinner charge was posted shortly after the first. They reversed that charge and shut down the card, I'm not sure that would have happened with a smaller bank.

sts7049 said:

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nobody will be able to open new lines of credit if it's frozen (including you)

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Another bonus is it can also slow the wife's impulse to open a credit card account for 10% off at some store.

It is a small and slight hassle to unfreeze the account (keep your login information safe), but it does reduce the impulse credit opening.

txaggieacct85 said:

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P.H. Dexippus said:

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Freeze your credit and leave it that way. But credit monitoring is largely a scam IMO.

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if you're trying to get a new credit card you have to unfreeze it temporarily?

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Yes. You can do a 24hr thaw that automatically refreezes. It's worth the hassle.

htxag09 said:

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EmberAggie said:

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Like several have said, credit monitoring is pretty useless.

Someone opened a bunch of credit cards, leased an apartment and signed up for utilities using my info when I was paying for monitoring.

It was another credit card company that wasn't manned by morons who clued in and notified me.

When I was cleaning it up, a couple of the companies admitted that they were suspicious about the applications, but they approved them. Couldn't believe that!

The company that caught it said they did so because I was a prior cardholder, and they noticed the application had the wrong maiden name.

The person was several states away and in one I had never lived -- and none of that ever triggered the credit monitoring. The fraud was going on for over half a year.

Lesson learned that these services may make one feel better, but they probably don't help at all and lead to a false sense of security.

---

What credit monitoring were you using?

I overall agree with credit monitoring not being worth it, as I don't have it. But for a few years I was with a company that offered it as a benefit (free). The system was pretty good at notifying me anytime anything changed on my credit. Did a soft hit for a potential home, was notified, etc.

I can't imagine someone opening credit cards in your name and your credit monitoring not notifying you. That's like the basis and bread and butter of what they do.

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This was in the about 1999. I believe it was Citibank. I was paying for it -- not folded into regular services like it looks like they provide now.

Identify fraud was just ramping up and more widely talked about in the media. The fraud monitoring never picked up on the fraud or anything out of the ordinary and never notified me that anything was odd. Highly disappointed, obviously.

I was lucky because I was able to get a kind police officer to write up a police report for it in Belleville, Illinois. Dallas wouldn't touch it since the fraudster was in Illinois, etc. At the time, everyone said you had to get a police report to get on the road to cleaning the issues up. No way would I get that report now. But, that report made these entities that enabled the fraud to take notice of my complaints and work to close out the person's accounts that were in my name.

My favorite part of the experience was when I was working to close the utilities. A customer service person asked me if I was sure I had never lived in Illinois when I told her it was a fraudulent account. I told her, "wait, let me think about it. NO, I've never lived in Illinois." Bizarre!