Who has the best identity theft protection services?
I have written previously about my experiences with credit card fraud and provided my recommendations on how you can actively monitor your credit card transactions by lowering your transaction threshold to receive email alerts. Although credit card fraud is one area of concern when you think about protecting your finances, the other is identity theft protection. With more consumers purchasing online and more banking transactions taking place over the Internet, I thought it would be appropriate to provide the FTP community with some identity theft resources. With some help from the folks at Reviews.com, I am providing their quick summary review of the best identity theft protection services.
(You can access their full report by clicking on the link at the end of this post.)
Most Affordable Family Protection: IdentityForce
IdentityForce gathers all the right features (power of attorney, $1MM of insurance coverage, and personal information monitoring) into a clean, easy-to-use dashboard. But for families, the biggest draw is likely to be that child protection runs just $3 per month, per head. We also really liked how painless IdentityForce made it remove personal information from the web: It required just the click of a button and was the easiest-to-use feature of its kind that we saw. Plans start at $13 a month for UltraSecure — the cheapest full-featured plan on the market — but note that you’ll need to upgrade to UltraSecure+Credit ($20 per month) if you want credit monitoring.
Cheapest Credit Monitoring & Most Customizable Alerts: LifeLock
LifeLock offers the most customizable set of alert tools out there. Plus, you have the option of speaking with a live rep who will help you understand the significance of the alerts — and how to deal with them. Plans run from $10 per month (Standard) to $30 per month (Ultimate Plus). Another feature we liked? Its $20-per-month Advantage offer black market website surveillance and identity monitoring.
Related Posts:
- How Many Credit Cards Should You Have
- Credit Card Fraud – Why You Should Lower Your Cards Transaction Alert Threshold
- Online Fraud and Your Checking Account
- Is Debt Consolidation a Good Idea? 3 Things to Consider
Best For Identity Theft Victims: ID Watchdog
ID Watchdog’s layout and design might seem really outdated, but don’t count it out. It’s the only company that offers rehabilitation for previously existing thefts. Other services require you to discover the theft during your membership before they’ll take action. And this makes ID Watchdog a standout choice for current victims. Plans start at $15 per month and come with $1 million dollar identity theft insurance coverage (the industry standard). If you want to monitor your credit, you’ll need to opt for the $20-per-month Platinum plan. A cost on par with IdentityForce’s UltraSecure+Credit option.
Best If You Lose Your Wallet: Credit Sesame
Credit Sesame’s $20-per-month Platinum Protection was the only one of its plans that satisfied our baseline criteria (three-bureau credit monitoring, ID monitoring, and power of attorney), but it surprised us with a feature we didn’t see anywhere else. “Full-service white-glove identity restoration.” Instead of just providing you with handy instructions for canceling lost credit cards (like the rest of our picks). Credit Sesame handles the entire process for you. Also: Get prepared for a lot of unavoidable credit card offers.
See the Reviews.com full report by clicking here.
Helpful Resources:
- Credit Sesame – Free Credit Report and Monitoring
- LifeLock
- LastPass – Super Easy Password Management
Have you experienced identity theft? Comment below.
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I remember when Lifelock first came out and on the commercials, the SS# was plastered everywhere. Their company actually got breached. But lesson learned they beefed up their security so I’m sure they are protecting their info a lot better.
Good list btw! These would definitely come in handy.
Melanie, thanks for the feedback. Considering the recent Equifax breach, it should be interesting to see how these services evolve over time as identity theft and credit card theft seem to becoming more and more prominent.
Hi Kevin, good roundup, especially with Equifax still fresh in everyone’s mind. I imagine these services are doing very well in the current climate.
Not a criticism (I like the article) but is this sponsored by Reviews.com? Just curious as it feels a little like it is and it can be hard to tell these days what’s editorial and what’s advertorial and as a reader it’s always nice to know.
Dave thanks for the feedback and for visiting. The folks at Reviews.com did reach out to me, I “reviewed” their content and felt it would benefit my readers, so I agreed to post it with my added input. It is not a paid advertisement. Again thanks for visiting, stop back soon.