 TITLE: How Often Should I Check My Credit Score? CONTENT: Sign Up for Free Credit Monitoring\n----------------------------------\nIn addition to checking your credit score before applying for a loan or credit card, you may want to monitor your scores for large unexpected drops. These could indicate that you've missed a payment, or that someone has fraudulently applied for credit and opened accounts in your name.\nFortunately, you can get free Experian credit monitoring with real-time alerts. Experian also offers subscriptions to identity theft protection services, which include identity theft insurance and an option to get three-bureau monitoring and alerts. END