Indirect monitoring and reporting of a user's credit data

Abstract

Methods and systems of monitoring and reporting of changes to a user's credit data are provided. One embodiment includes providing a service, hosted by a data server, that allows the user to access the service via a communication terminal. The service may also request enrollment data, including identity verification data, from the user. Further, the service may periodically access and monitor the user's credit data for a change in the user's credit data via a connection between the data server and a credit bureau even if the data server has not received sufficient identity verification data from the user. Additionally, the service may determine whether a change detected in the user's credit data is a significant event. When an event or a significant event in the user's credit data is detected, the service may alert the user of the fact that an event has occurred even if the data server has not received sufficient identity verification data from the user.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to, and is a continuation of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 069,896, filed Mar. 23, 2011, titled INDIRECT MONITORING AND REPORTING OF A USER'S CREDIT DATA. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 069,896 claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Pat. App. No. 61 / 316,994, filed Mar. 24, 2010, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR INDIRECT MONITORING AND REPORTING OF A USER'S CREDIT REPORT.” Each of these applications is incorporated by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND[0002]Field[0003]This disclosure generally relates to indirect monitoring of a user's credit data, and more particularly to methods and systems for indirect monitoring and reporting of changes to a user's credit data.[0004]Description of the Related Art[0005]Conventional credit monitoring services, such as those provided by current credit reporting bureaus, require the user to enroll into the credit monitoring service prior to the user being a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]This application provides methods and systems for indirect monitoring and reporting of changes to a user's credit report. The methods and systems provided herein may provide a notification alert of the fact that a change or a significant event has occurred in a user's credit report, without providing details as to what change or significant event has occurred, even if the user has not provided sufficient identity verification data. The methods and systems provided herein also may enable the user to save significant time in not having to complete the lengthy process of entering identity verification data, until, for example, a change or significant event to the user's credit report is detected by the credit monitoring service.

[0012]Accordingly, some embodiments described herein allow the user to be able to bypass the authentication steps (e.g., enter the identity verification data) during the enrollment process and still provide the user with the service of monitoring the user's credit report and notifying the user of the fact that a change or significant event has occurred. Thus, the user obtains the benefit of being enrolled with the credit monitoring service and the credit monitoring service can charge the user for its service, even if the user has not provided any identification verification data. When the user is notified that a change or significant event has occurred, the user can then finish the authentication process (e.g., provide sufficient identity verification data) in order to see the specific details of the change or significant event.

Problems solved by technology

In some systems, if a user has not entered sufficient identification verification data, the credit monitoring service may determine that the user has not finished enrollment process and the credit monitoring service will not monitor the user's credit data or send notification alerts to the user.

However, in many instances the user does not provide sufficient identity verification data.

This may occur even though the user has already paid for the service.

The user may not provide the identity verification data because of time constraints, because the user does not have all necessary information on hand, or simply because the user forgets to provide the identity verification data.

This can result in the user thinking he has completed the registration process and is now enrolled within the credit monitoring service, even though the user has not finished the enrollment process.

However, this may not be the case, as conventional credit monitoring services do not monitor credit reports or send notification alerts to users that have not entered sufficient identity verification data.

Thus, the user is lulled into a false sense of security, because the user has likely paid for the service and expects the credit monitoring service to be monitoring the user's credit report and sending notification alerts to the user, despite not having entered sufficient identity verification data.

Images