What are monitoring alerts in CreditRefresh?
Monitoring & alerts shows a feed of changes your credit monitoring provider detects, like new inquiries, new accounts, and other changes across the bureaus. Seeing "No alerts right now" is normal and just means nothing new has been reported yet. Alerts never automatically start a dispute; you decide what to do about anything you see. Monitoring runs through Refresh Monitoring, the provider behind your credit data.
What this page shows
The Monitoring & alerts page describes itself as alerts from your monitoring provider, covering new inquiries, new accounts, and changes across the bureaus. It is a feed, not a settings page. There are no filter or toggle controls shown, just the list of anything your provider has reported.
Based on the page's own description, entries can include new inquiries, meaning someone or something checked your credit, new accounts appearing on a bureau file, and other changes across the bureaus, such as an update to an existing account. What counts as reportable is decided by your monitoring provider, not by CreditRefresh.
The empty state
When nothing has been reported yet, the page shows "No alerts right now" with the explanation "When your provider reports a change to your credit, it'll show up here." That is the normal starting state for most accounts and does not mean monitoring is off. It means your provider has not detected a new inquiry, account, or other reportable change since you started.
Where alerts come from
Alerts are generated by Refresh Monitoring, the regulated credit-data provider behind your credit monitoring, not by CreditRefresh itself. When that provider detects something new on your file, such as a hard inquiry or a newly opened account, it is reported here.
Alerts do not start disputes for you
An alert is information, not an action. Seeing an alert never automatically opens a dispute or sends a letter. If an alert points to something you do not recognize, such as an inquiry or account you did not authorize, review it and decide whether to start a dispute yourself from My disputes. For unfamiliar accounts that could signal fraud, see Identity theft and your credit for next steps.
Not every change to your credit shows up right away. The feed reflects what your monitoring provider has reported so far, so if you know something changed, such as a new card you opened, but the page still says "No alerts right now," give it some time. The feed updates as your provider reports new activity, not on a schedule you control from within the app.
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Refresh Monitoring is the $49 per month credit monitoring subscription that includes full access to CreditRefresh, which is free on its own. Refresh Monitoring is the source of your credit reports and scores, and CreditRefresh is the tool that accesses those reports to scan for errors and draft disputes. Pulling reports this way is a soft pull that does not hurt your score.
A fraud alert is a free flag on your credit file, under FCRA Section 1681c-1, telling lenders to verify your identity before opening new credit in your name. An initial alert lasts one year and renews free; an extended alert lasts 7 years but requires an FTC identity theft report. Place it at one bureau and that bureau must notify the other two. Unlike a freeze, it doesn't block pulls.
Identity theft happens when someone uses your personal information to open accounts or make purchases in your name. Signs on your report include unfamiliar accounts, hard inquiries you don't recognize, addresses you've never lived at, and collections for debts that aren't yours. Active theft requires filing an FTC report at IdentityTheft.gov, freezing your credit, and disputing fraudulent items.
Only someone with a permissible purpose under FCRA Section 1681b: a lender you applied to, an existing creditor reviewing your account, a collector collecting a debt, an insurer underwriting you, an employer with written consent, a landlord processing your application, or anyone you instruct in writing. A pull without permissible purpose violates the FCRA.