Identity Theft: Warning Signs, What Monitoring Services Can and Can't Catch, and How to Report It
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How we wrote this: A plain-English summary of the Federal Trade Commission's consumer guide "What To Know About Identity Theft" (linked below), checked October 29, 2026. We don't recommend any paid monitoring service. For freezing your credit, see our separate guide to credit freezes and fraud alerts.
Identity theft, in the FTC's words, is when someone uses your personal or financial information without your permission. This guide covers how to notice it early, what paid monitoring services do and don't watch, and where to report it.
What thieves do with your information
The FTC says thieves may steal your name and address, card or bank account numbers, Social Security number or medical insurance account numbers, and use them to:
- buy things with your credit cards, or get new cards in your name
- open a phone, electricity or gas account in your name
- steal your tax refund
- get a job or medical care
- pretend to be you if they're arrested
Warning signs to watch for
The FTC lists four habits that catch identity theft that has already happened:
- Track what bills you owe and when they're due. If a bill stops arriving, someone may have changed your billing address.
- Review your bills. Charges for things you didn't buy, or a new bill you didn't expect, can be signs.
- Check your bank statements for withdrawals you didn't make.
- Get and review your free credit reports. Accounts you don't recognize can be a sign.
If you run a business from home, the same habits apply to business accounts and cards.
Before you give out your Social Security number
The FTC notes that some organizations genuinely need your Social Security number, such as the IRS, your bank and your employer, but those organizations won't call, email or text you to ask for it. If they do, it's a scammer.
Others, such as a medical office, a company you're doing business with or a school, may ask without really needing it. The FTC suggests asking:
- Why do you need it?
- How will you protect it?
- Can you use a different identifier?
- Can you use just the last four digits?
If you're not satisfied with the answers, don't share it.
Everyday protections
From the same FTC guide:
- Credit freeze: free to place and lift; while it's in place, no one can open new credit in your name. A fraud alert (free, one year) tells businesses to check with you first.
- Protect paper documents. Keep financial records and Social Security and Medicare cards somewhere safe, and shred them before throwing them away (or black out account numbers with a marker). Take mail out of the mailbox promptly; see our mail and package theft guide.
- Strong passwords and two-factor authentication on online accounts, and don't give personal information to anyone who calls, emails or texts you. See our guide to recognizing phishing.
What monitoring services do, and what they miss
You may be offered credit monitoring, identity monitoring, recovery services or identity theft insurance, for a fee or through a bank, card issuer, employer or insurer. The FTC explains the limits:
| Service | What it usually alerts you to | What it usually won't catch |
|---|---|---|
| Credit monitoring (one, two or all three bureaus) | A credit check, a new loan or card on your report, late-payment reports, bankruptcy filings, lawsuits, credit limit changes, changes to your name, address or phone | Withdrawals from your bank account; someone using your Social Security number to file a tax return and collect your refund |
| Identity monitoring | Your information in change-of-address requests, court or arrest records, new utility, cable or wireless orders, payday loan applications, check-cashing requests, social media, or sites where thieves trade stolen data | Misuse to file a tax return, or to get Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, Social Security or unemployment benefits |
| Recovery services | Help fixing damage after identity theft; may be included or cost extra | The FTC notes you may be able to do some of it yourself for little or no cost |
Questions the FTC suggests asking a credit monitoring company: how often it checks, which bureaus it monitors, whether there's a limit on how often you can review your reports, whether you're charged per review, and what else is included. And remember, you can monitor your own credit with free credit reports.
Because monitoring services usually miss tax-refund fraud, an IRS Identity Protection PIN covers that gap.
How to report identity theft
If you think someone stole your identity, the FTC says to report it at IdentityTheft.gov (in Spanish, RobodeIdentidad.gov). You'll get a free personal recovery plan, and you can:
- update the plan and track your progress
- print pre-filled letters and forms for credit bureaus, businesses and debt collectors
The site covers more than 30 types of identity theft, plus what to do after a data breach. To report in another language, the FTC lists 877-438-4338 (press 3), with interpreters available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.