Credit Monitoring vs Credit Freeze

Which is better?

Are credit monitoring services worth it? Do they prevent identity theft?

See this KrebsOnSecurity article from March 2014 which provides a pretty clear answer. Also includes application guidance.

A December 2015 KrebsOnSecurity article updates the discussion using the OPM breach and others as recent examples.

From Consumer’s Union: A page of overviews for each state & DC and a page of links.