One reason why it's becoming more important than ever to keep track of one's credit score is the growing sophistication of identity theft and malware schemes that can target consumers from any part of the world.
One such attack that has been making headlines is the Kneber bot. A Washington Post report notes that the malware attack is thought to have compromised about 75,000 computer systems and more than 2,500 companies around the world, including in the United States.
The newspaper added that the attack was thought to have originated in China in 2008 and was only detected within the past month. Among the entities seeing their data compromised are reportedly large financial institutions, energy companies, and even Google.
Elsewhere, Computer World magazine adds that the malware has been primarily used to steal financial login information, although it also appears capable of stealing a variety of other kinds of information.
Identity thieves can often strike successfully from other countries because many overseas governments lack the resources and desire to take greater steps against such crimes. With that in mind, monitoring one's credit report regularly can potentially save a considerable amount of time and trouble for many consumers.