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Free Credit Monitoring for Military: Is It Legit?

Quick Answer: Yes, free credit monitoring for military is legitimate through a 2019 FTC rule requiring Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to provide these services to active duty and National Guard members. Military personnel can sign up directly through each credit reporting agency’s website to receive alerts about potential identity theft or credit report errors.

Starting October 31, 2019, many members of the military will have access to free electronic credit monitoring, which can help them spot identity theft.

In response to a new FTC Rule implementing a 2018 law, the nationwide credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—are providing free electronic credit monitoring services to active duty service members and National Guard members. Credit monitoring services can alert consumers to mistakes or problems with their credit reports that might stem from the unauthorized use of their personal information to obtain credit.

For details on how to sign up for the free credit monitoring, go to the websites for each of the credit reporting agencies. For information about how to dispute an error in a credit report, read Disputing Errors on Your Credit Report. To spot signs of, or recover from, identity theft, visit Identitytheft.gov.

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Steve Rhode The Get Out of Debt Guy | Consumer Debt Expert
Consumer debt expert & investigative writer. Personal bankruptcy survivor (1990). Washington Post award-winning author. Exposing debt scams since 1994.

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