Credit monitoring services track changes that are reported to the nationwide consumer credit bureaus. But a clean credit file does not guarantee that a consumer’s identity hasn’t been misused, Fox News reported on Oct. 24, 2026. Criminals can steal money or benefits without opening new credit accounts, leaving credit scores and reports unchanged.
What credit monitoring usually detects
Fox News summarized the typical alerts credit-monitoring products watch. Depending on the service, monitoring can notify consumers about:
- new credit accounts reported by lenders;
- hard credit inquiries when someone applies for credit in your name;
- credit score changes caused by newly reported activity; and
- collection accounts that appear on your credit report.
Those signals can help spot new-account fraud, when an identity thief opens a loan, credit card or other account that lenders report to Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. But Fox News warned those alerts rely on third parties — lenders and other companies — to report the activity to the credit bureaus.
What credit monitoring can miss
The story noted that bad actors often target parts of a consumer’s finances that don’t get reported to the credit bureaus. Examples include:
- existing bank accounts and checking or savings withdrawals;
- retirement accounts such as 401(k) balances or IRA distributions; and
- government benefits (Social Security, unemployment or other benefit payments) or phone number hijacks used to access accounts.
Because those types of fraud may not generate a credit-file alert, a person could check their credit score and see nothing unusual while fraud affecting non-credit accounts continues.
How consumers can look for non-credit fraud
Fox News advised that reviewing financial statements regularly can uncover suspicious activity that never appears on a credit report. That recommendation directs consumers to inspect bank, retirement and benefits statements, and to monitor account access through related service providers.
The report also promoted a Fox News online event for further advice; consumers should weigh information from any live class or vendor against independent guidance from regulators such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the Federal Trade Commission.
Identity theft and fraud take many forms. Credit monitoring remains useful for spotting new-account fraud, but it is not a substitute for routine checks of bank and benefits accounts and for practical safeguards such as strong account passwords, multi-factor authentication and prompt reporting of suspicious transactions to financial institutions and to law enforcement when appropriate.
