In 2022, the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov website received over 1.1 million reports of identity theft, and consumers reported nearly $8.8 billion in identity theft and fraud-related losses — a 30% increase over the previous year. To protect your finances and keep from adding to these statistics, you may be thinking about getting an identity theft protection service.

With Identity Guard, you can choose between basic identity theft protection and comprehensive, “white glove” identity and credit protection plans. Keep reading to learn more about Identity Guard’s features and whether its plans are right for you.

Ads by Money. We may be compensated if you click this ad.Ad
Best for Affordability

Starting at $8.99 per month, Identity Guard‘s entry-level plan is an affordable option for those who want an identity theft protection service without having to spend a substantial amount of money every month on expensive software.

Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection Pros and Cons
Budget-friendly basic plan$1 million in identity theft insurance on all plansVariety of pricing options for individual and family plansExpensive comprehensive plansBasic plan doesn’t include credit monitoring
Pros explained
Budget-friendly basic plan

Identity Guard’s Value plan costs $6.67 per month for individuals and $14.99 per month for families when billed annually. It includes access to a US-based customer care team and comes with data breach notifications, dark web monitoring, high-risk transaction monitoring, safe browsing features and a password manager.

$1 million in identity theft insurance on all plans

All Identity Guard plans include $1 million in identity theft insurance, underwritten by American International Group, Inc (AIG). This insurance covers costs related to identity theft, such as repairing your credit report and paying legal fees to restore your identity. Other providers might offer more coverage, but a $1 million cap on damages is enough for the average consumer.

Variety of pricing options for individual and family plans

Identity Guard offers three plans for individuals and for families. An individual plan grants one user access to its services, whereas the family plan protects up to five adults plus an unlimited number of children.

Cons explained
Comprehensive plans are expensive

Ultra, Identity Guard’s most comprehensive offering, includes all of the features available in Value and Total, plus additional identity and credit protection tools like social media monitoring. However, this plan is on the pricier end compared to similar ones from other providers, starting at $29.99 per month.

Basic plan doesn’t include credit monitoring

The Value plan includes basic features for identity theft protection but it doesn’t come with credit and debit card monitoring. If this is a necessary feature for you, you’ll have to purchase Identity Guard’s most expensive option, the Ultra plan.

Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection Plans

Below, you can take a closer look at the protection services available with each Identity Guard plan.

Value

The Value plan comes with the following features:

$1 million in identity theft insurance Access to a US-based customer care team Data breach notifications Dark web monitoring High-risk transaction monitoring Safe browsing tool Password manager Total

Total, Identity Guard’s mid-range plan, comes with all the features from the Value plan, plus:

Bank account monitoring Credit file monitoring with the three credit bureaus Monthly credit score Ultra

Ultra comes with all the features available on the Value and Total plans, plus:

Credit and debit card monitoring White glove fraud resolution Social media monitoring 401k and investment account monitoring Home title monitoring Criminal and sex offense monitoring USPS address change monitoring Access to Experian Credit Lock Annual three-bureau credit monitoring reports

Identity Guard recommends Ultra for those who want the most complete identity theft protection available. You’ll find features in this plan unavailable on the company’s more affordable solutions, such as:

White-glove fraud resolution. If you experience identity theft or another type of financial fraud, a dedicated case manager from Identity Guard will help you create a remediation and mitigation plan to minimize damages and losses. The case manager will also help teach you how to report identity theft to federal institutions and credit bureaus and restore your financial reputation. Social media monitoring. By providing Identity Guard with information about your social media accounts, the company can alert you when you share personal and financial information with potentially fraudulent users in direct messages. That can prevent someone from stealing your identity. Credit monitoring. The best credit monitoring services, like those in the Ultra plan, alert you about suspicious or unauthorized activities on your accounts. You can receive notifications by email, text or phone and take swift action to protect your financial information. Identity Guard identity theft protection pricing

Identity Guard wins points for affordability with its Value plan, which is one of the most budget-friendly identity theft protection packages we’ve come across. The plan comes with identity theft insurance, cybersecurity tools and various types of monitoring. It even features dark web monitoring so you can keep your credit card numbers and bank account number a secret from malicious actors.

Here’s a cost breakdown for each of Identity Guard’s plans:

$8.99/mo; $6.67/mo with annual billing

$14.99/mo; 10.00/mo with annual billing

$19.99/mo; $11.99/mo with annual billing

$29.99/mo; $17.99/mo with annual billing

$14.99/mo; $29.99/mo with annual billing

$39.99/mo; $19.99/mo with annual billing

Identity Guard doesn’t offer a free trial or demo for any of its plans. However, the company provides a 60-day money-back guarantee on all annual plans.

Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection Financial Stability

Before signing up for a plan with an identity theft service provider, it’s a good idea to find out if the company is financially stable. Although we couldn’t find financial stability information for Identity Guard, the company has been in operation for over 25 years, according to its main website.

AIG, the company that underwrites Identity Guard’s insurance policies, holds a financial strength rating of A (Stable) by AM Best as of December 18, 2023.

Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection Accessibility

Identity Guard has a resource center and FAQ page that offers detailed information about the company’s services. You can also email a team member and get a response within 24 to 48 hours or phone a customer representative from Monday through Saturday. Unlike many other providers, the company doesn’t have a live chat feature.

Availability

Identity Guard’s services are currently limited to customers in the United States. We couldn’t find information about whether Identity Guard plans to offer its identity theft monitoring tools to international markets in the future.

Contact information

The Identity Guard customer service phone number is 1-833-692-2187. Lines are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST). You can also email [email protected].

User experience

When it comes to user experience, Identity Guard keeps things simple for its customers. It has a straightforward registration process, and once you’ve set up your account, Identity Guard handles the heavy lifting of identity theft protection.

The company sends you customizable notifications by email, text or phone if it notices suspicious activity on your accounts or if someone exposes your personal information on the internet. You can log into your dashboard to view monitoring insights and update your account information.

Identity Guard also has a mobile app that lets you access your dashboard on the go, receive push notifications about fraud alerts, and add and remove financial accounts. The Identity Guard app is available on both iOS and Android devices.

Ads by Money. We may be compensated if you click this ad.Ad
Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection Customer Satisfaction

When it comes to customer reviews, Identity Guard’s reputation varies widely depending on the platform. On the BBB, the company has an average of 1.8/5 based on just five customer reviews. Many users in online reviews point out the company’s solid customer service and ability to solve problems quickly.

Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection FAQs

How do Identity Guard services work?

Identity Guard is a web-based identity theft protection tool that monitors your personal information and financial accounts. It uses IBM Watson’s AI tools to predict online behaviors that increase the risk of someone stealing your data. It also notifies you of suspicious or unauthorized activities on your accounts.
The company also provides all users with $1 million in identity theft insurance, which you can use to recover funds lost to this crime.

Does Identity Guard offer a free trial?

Identity Guard doesn’t offer a free trial or demo. The only way to try out the Identity Guard’s identity theft protection service is to sign up for a rolling month-to-month plan and cancel it after the company deposits the first payment from your bank account.

How do I sign up for Identity Guard identity theft protection services?

To sign up for Identity Guard’s identity theft protection services, go to the company’s website, click “Start Membership” and choose the plan that best suits you. Then, create an account by providing your personal details and choosing a username and password.
You’ll be prompted to add financial information to your account, such as your credit card numbers, bank account information and Social Security number. Identity Guard will track this information and notify you of suspicious activity on your accounts.

How good is Identity Guard at handling identity theft situations?

Identity Guard says 38 million people trust it to protect their identity online. Many Identity Guard users commend the company for notifying them about questionable activity on their financial accounts, preventing a fraud event from occurring.

How we evaluated Identity Guard identity theft protection

Money considered the following factors when reviewing Identity Guard:

Plan features and pricing Accessibility Service terms of use Money-back guarantee options Customer service options Customer reviews on BBB, Trustpilot and other platforms Third-party ratings Summary of Money’s Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection Review

Identity Guard gets an “A” for the affordability of its entry-level plan. Starting at just $8.99 per month, the Value plan offers strong identity theft protection features for those who want to safeguard their personally identifiable information on the internet. A generous $1 million in identity theft insurance is also available with this plan.

The biggest downside of Identity Guard’s is that its credit monitoring services are unavailable on the company’s more affordable plans. For comprehensive identity theft coverage, you’ll need to choose the expensive Ultra plan. If price isn’t an issue, Ultra likely offers everything you need to protect your personal information and financial accounts.

Original: Money.com: Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection