When we had a recent run-in with identity theft, we decided to investigate credit monitoring services that promise you protection from identity theft.

We've been asked about credit monitoring services countless times in the past, and it almost always takes a breach of someone's identity before we get the question, "Should I pay for a credit monitoring service?"

It's a good and increasingly important question, so let us give you the information you need to determine if this kind of service makes sense to you.

3 Problems with Credit Monitoring Services

Over the past three years, roughly 49 million Americans heard the dreaded news that their personal information had been stolen, lost or improperly disclosed. Sometimes you get lucky when a breach occurs and the thieves are stopped dead in their tracks before they can wreak much havoc.

But a significant percentage of victims -- 19% to be exact -- were not so fortunate. The breaches resulted in credit charges, losses of money in bank accounts or some other kinds of fraud.

Enter the credit bureaus, which are now offering credit monitoring services that cost anywhere from $60--$180 a year.

First, we can't help but be struck by the irony. Some of the same entities that often inadvertently abet would-be thieves with sloppy handling of our personal information end up profiting from their own mistakes by charging you for protection!

Our credit keepers use the fear of an ever-growing identity theft problem to rake in lots of dough by offering you the promise of protection. Take it from us…this "promise" can sound like the perfect antidote, no matter the price, after you have been alerted to a theft of identity.

Unfortunately, it only sounds like the perfect antidote. When you dig a little deeper, you find three serious problems:

Problem #1: The door may be closed but the window is still open. Most credit monitoring services only watch one venue through which thieves enter, which is each one's own reporting mechanisms. Remember, there are three main credit bureaus, and creditors don't always report to all three agencies. So, if you were to buy Experian's credit monitoring service, you might not be protected from a report of a new account in your name made only to TransUnion. You're missing a lot of potential problem areas.

However, we know that the credit reporting services now offer what they call "3 bureau monitoring," and we're going to see how that develops.

Problem #2: But that happened months ago! Another glaring problem with some of these services is the excruciating delay in reporting already built into the system. It can sometimes take a creditor as long as 60 days to report a new fraudulent account. Think of how much damage could be done to your life with a 60-day buying spree in your name!

Problem #3: What do you mean "You can't do that?"

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