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The best services for protecting your identity from theft can help you find, stop, and get your identity back. Most of them also monitor your credit and show you how to keep your credit scores high. might be doing all you can to protect your identity. Each of your accounts has its own password, which is a mix of letters, numbers, special characters that you change often.
Your identity is still at risk, even if you do these things. Thieves are using more and more tools and methods to steal your personal information, which makes identity theft more difficult. If they are successful, thieves can use personal information to open credit accounts, file tax returns, or even take on the whole identity of someone else.
Best Identity Theft Protection Services
IdentityForce
IdentityForce has plans that protect you and your family from identity theft that are complete and cover everything you need. IdentityForce’s basic plan includes social media identity monitoring, which is not the case for many of its competitors.
It also has services that are less common, such as a way to stop getting junk mail. The top plan from the company is called UltraSecure+Credit. It has features like monitoring your credit from three bureaus, help with freezing your credit, and alerts for your investment accounts.
Features
Pros
- Full-featured identity theft protection
- Two-factor authentication
- Monitoring of personal information on social media
Cons
- Pricier than some plans
- Mixed reviews on user interface
LifeLock
LifeLock is one of the most expensive ways to protect yourself from identity theft that we’ve looked into. You get what you pay for, though. Its best service, LifeLock Ultimate Plus, keeps an eye on the most types of personal information, like investment and retirement accounts, payday lenders, credit cards, and websites that look up people.
It even lets you know if someone is trying to steal your phone number. LifeLock Ultimate Plus gives you a new Equifax credit score and credit report every day, as well as new scores and reports from the other two credit bureaus every month.
Features
Pros
- Range of plans at different price points
- Can be combined with Norton for device security
- 30-day free trial
Cons
- Can be pricey after promotions end
- Limited features in low-tiered plans
Identity Guard
This Virginia-based company was started in the 1990s, when the Internet was becoming popular. In the digital age, its main goal is to protect identity. Identity Guard also has plans for families that keep kids safe online.
The best thing about Identity Guard is that it can find identity theft faster because it uses artificial intelligence. A very smart AI that can win at Jeopardy and figure out what’s wrong with a patient, among other things.
Features
Pros
- Budget-friendly price for basic plan
- Artificial intelligence tools help protect your data
- Range of plans at different price points
Cons
- Full-featured plans can be pricey
- Limited credit bureau reports
IdentityForce UltraSecure+Credit
Overall, Identity Force is the best service for protecting your identity from theft because it does a good job of keeping your information safe and gives you a lot of information about your credit for a fair price. Every three months, credit scores and reports from all three credit bureaus are updated.
Most types of financial accounts, including investment accounts, are watched, and the $1 million identity restoration insurance covers travel costs, child care, and lost funds and wages. Identity Force even checks court records and cybercrime forums for your name and Social Security number.
Features
Pros
- Family plans available
- Discount available if you pay for one year of coverage upfront
- All plans come with $1 million in identity theft insurance
Cons
- Credit reports come quarterly, not monthly
Aura
Ultra Secure+Credit and IDShield have more services for monitoring than Aura. For example, Aura doesn’t monitor social media. It still offers well-rounded protection with monitoring of all three credit bureaus, the usual security tools, and email aliases to cut down on spam and data breaches.
The best things about Aura are its plans for couples and families. They give the same protections to more people for much less money per person. Parents can use controls for mobile devices that come with the Aura family plan.
Features
Pros
- All plans come with protection for antivirus, VPN, and devices.
- Keeps an eye out for fraud in credit reports and financial institutions
Cons
- Pricier than some rivals
MyFICO Premier
MyFICO Premier is the best service we’ve ever used to keep an eye on our credit. It gives you full credit reports and scores from the three biggest credit bureaus every month. Even better, it is the only service that gives FICO scores, which are what most lenders use to decide if someone is credit-worthy.
If your main goal is to keep an eye on your credit, you don’t need to look any further. It is the opposite of LifeLock in that way. MyFICO checks court records, bank accounts, credit cards, and the “dark web” for activity, but it doesn’t send you alerts about data breaches or changes to the title of your property.
Features
Pros
- 24/7 customer service
- Transparent summary of benefits
Cons
- More costly than competitors
PrivacyGuard
You aren’t as safe as you could be with PrivacyGuard. It’s important to know that it doesn’t include credit reports from any of the major credit bureaus, but you can fill in most of the gaps with other free tools. PrivacyGuard has a lot of services that are hard to copy for free, like scanning the dark web and keeping an eye on public records.
You’ll also get tools to keep your browser and keyboard safe. The trade-off is that this plan is much cheaper, so it’s a cheap way to fill in coverage gaps that you might be getting for free elsewhere. It is one of the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft.
Features
Pros
- Daily credit monitoring at the three main bureaus
- Comes with an app
- Inexpensive relative to other plans
Cons
- Doesn’t offer comprehensive family plans
FAQs
What is the best defense against identity theft?
- Freeze your credit
- Safeguard your Social Security number
- Be alert to phishing and spoofing
- Use strong passwords and add an authentication step
- Use alerts
- Watch your mailbox
- Shred, shred, shred
- Use a digital wallet
Is there a better service than LifeLock?
In the end, Aura’s plan has more features, better protection with digital security tools included, and cheaper prices than LifeLock’s plan that is similar.
Are ID theft services Worth It?
Identity theft protection can help keep your family’s online and financial accounts, personally identifiable information, device security, and losses from fraud safe.
Who is at highest risk for identity theft?
Do you know who identity thieves steal from the most? The answer might surprise you: everyone should be aware of identity theft, but children and older people are especially likely to be victims.
