Credit monitoring is a service that keeps an eye on your credit reports and alerts you when there are important changes. It is mainly used to spot possible identity theft early and to help you track your credit health.

What credit monitoring does

Credit monitoring services regularly check one or more of your credit reports from the major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). They look for specific changes such as new accounts, hard inquiries, big balance changes, missed payments, or new negative items like collections or public records. When a change occurs, the service sends you an alert by email, text, or app so you can quickly confirm if the activity is legitimate or potentially fraudulent.

How it technically works

Lenders and creditors routinely report your account activity to the credit bureaus, and that information builds your credit reports over time. Credit monitoring tools access those reports using soft inquiries, which do not affect your credit scores, and compare each new version against the previous one to detect changes. When the system sees something new—like a newly opened card, a new address, or a sudden balance spike—it triggers an automated notification to you.

What it can help with

Credit monitoring helps you catch signs of identity theft earlier, such as unfamiliar new accounts or hard inquiries you did not authorize. It can also help you understand how your actions—like paying down debt or missing a payment—show up on your credit reports and may impact your credit scores.

Limits of credit monitoring

Credit monitoring does not prevent fraud; it alerts you after activity hits your credit reports, so some damage might already be done when you get an alert. It also cannot catch types of identity theft that do not involve your credit file, such as some medical, criminal, or tax-related identity fraud.

Extra features some services offer

Many paid services add features such as dark web and data-breach scans to see if your personal information is being traded or exposed. Some also bundle identity theft insurance and restoration help, which can cover certain costs and provide specialists to assist you if your identity is stolen.