Appreciation post: The free credit monitoring from my bank actually caught a problem

I signed up for the free credit monitoring through my Chase account 2 years ago just because it was there, never thought I'd use it. Last month I got an alert that a new card was opened in my name at a furniture store in Dallas where I've never lived. Called the number on the alert and they walked me through freezing my credit right then. Has anyone else had their bank's free service actually find something real before they noticed it themselves?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_williams1d ago

Did the bank make it easy to fix the issue or did you have to fight them on it?

william_craig71d ago

I'll be honest, I used to think the same way about those free monitoring services. I signed up through my bank too and figured it was just another way for them to push their other products on me lol. But last year I got an alert about a payday loan application in my name from a state I've never even visited. Didn't even know that was a thing people could do with just your info. Totally changed my mind on it, now I tell everyone I know to at least turn it on even if you think nothing will happen.

tessalane1d ago

A friend of mine had a similar thing happen with a credit card she never applied for. It was opened in Florida and she lives in Maine. The bank's fraud team was actually pretty helpful once she got through to the right person, but it still took a solid month to get it cleared off her report. I think that kind of thing really wakes you up to how much of your info is just floating around out there. It's good that you're telling people about it, a lot of folks just assume it won't happen to them until it does.