Identity Guard Review 2023

Overview

Founded in 1996 by Intersections Inc., Identity Guard is an identity theft protection service that helps businesses and individuals protect their identities and secure their data. Their service was rated #1 for identity theft protection service by U.S. News in 2022. The company also has an A+ rating from Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Their wide range of services focuses on protecting users’ identity, data, privacy, financial assets, and devices. They also offer $1 million in insurance with recovery support from dedicated U.S.-based case managers.

Identity Guard is currently owned by Aura, a popular competitor often mentioned in the same lists. They target different niches: Aura’s offerings focus on a comprehensive solution for overall cyber wellness, while Identity Guard’s features center on identity theft.

What Does Identity Guard Protect Against?

Identity Guard has partnered with IBM Watson to collect and analyze data to provide superior monitoring and security features.
Their intelligent use of advanced methods and technologies helps protect consumers against:

Bank account takeovers

• Credit fraud
• Cyberbullying
• Dark web information leak
• Financial fraud and scams
• Home title theft
• Identity fraud
• Malware
• Unauthorized investment funds transfer
• USPS address change
• And more

Identity Guard Review: Features and Services

Credit Bureau Monitoring

Credit bureau monitoring involves tracking changes to or inquiries on your credit file. Most identity theft protection services provide three-credit bureau monitoring (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) as a base service in their subscription plans.

While a crucial feature for any identity theft protection service, credit bureau monitoring is not available with Identity Guard’s low-tier Value Plan.
To access three-credit bureau monitoring from all major credit bureaus, users will have to opt for a Total or Ultra Plan.

Monthly and Annual Credit Score and Report

This feature is also only available on the mid and top-tier plans. The Total Plan offers only a monthly credit score from a single bureau. The Ultra Plan offers annual credit reports from three credit bureaus and monthly credit scores from a single credit bureau.

Risk Management Report

With this feature, Identity Guard’s IBM Watson AI asks users a few questions to find vulnerabilities in their online and offline behavior.
Every member can access this feature as it’s available on all plans.

High-Risk Transaction Monitoring

Available on all three plans, this type of monitoring covers unauthorized high-risk transactions on your accounts. You can set what limits and accounts are monitored by logging onto the Identity Guard platform.

Insurance Coverage

Identity Guard offers $1 million insurance coverage if members fall victim to identity theft. The same coverage is accessible to users on all plans.
Here is a complete and detailed breakdown of their insurance coverage: (For eligible losses)

• $1,000,000 aggregate limit of insurance per policy period
• $2,000 per week for lost wages for a maximum of 5 weeks
• $1,000 for travel expenses per policy period

Dark Web Monitoring

Identity Guard also scans the dark web to look for exposed accounts, SSNs, IDs, and more information that compromises identities. They then notify users of such instances so users can take immediate action and protect their data.

Information monitored on the dark web includes:

• Credit card
• Date of birth
• Driver’s license
• Email address
• Passport
• Phone number
• SSN
• And more.

You can choose what information will be monitored by accessing your Identity Guard account.

Bank Account and Takeovers Monitoring

The bank account monitoring feature is only available on the Total and Ultra Plans.
Its purpose is to monitor transactions in users’ bank, credit, and debit card accounts and alert them about any suspicious activity. The alerts are also sent if Identity Guard notices a new application in the user’s name for banking, checking, savings, or retirement account.

Takeover monitoring keeps track of and sends alerts for changes to the user’s bank details. These changes may be to their name, email, and phone number, or include the addition of new account holders.

Credit and Debit Card Monitoring

Another critical area that Identity Guard’s features cover is your debit and credit cards. This feature involves monitoring suspicious activity on these accounts, including the opening or request for one using your personal information.

If you want to access this feature, you will have to subscribe to their Ultra Plan.

401k and Investment Monitoring

Another feature only available on the Ultra Plan is 401k monitoring and investment monitoring.
Its purpose is to prevent financial fraud and losses on members’ investment accounts. Identity Guard facilitates this by keeping track of and alerting users of suspicious activity on investment accounts registered with them.

Criminal and Sex Offense Monitoring

Only available on the Ultra Plan, this feature monitors criminal and sex offender registries to alert users when their names appear on such records.
USPS Address Change Monitoring

This feature from Identity Guard alerts users to instances where someone might be trying to change their address with the U.S. postal service.
Unfortunately, the feature is only available on the Ultra Plan.

Home Title Monitoring

Identity Guard monitors and notifies users of changes to ownership or other details of their home title as recorded by the county assessor or recorder’s office.

The user is advised to contact their county clerk to gain more information about the transaction and begin the remediation process.

Safe Browsing Tool

Identity Guard alerts users of any risk associated with the websites they browse and wish to access.

Social Media Monitoring

This service monitors the social media accounts you register:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• YouTube

Identity Guard alerts users of suspicious activity and malicious links but doesn’t monitor direct messages or chats.

Social Insight Report

Unlike social media monitoring, this feature is exclusively focused on your Facebook account. Identity Guard’s AI-powered IBM Watson analyzes your Facebook timeline to assess your online image and recommends actions to improve it.

Identity Guard Review: Ease of Use

Setting up your protection plan with Identity Guard is simple and can be completed online or via their app.
Get enrolled within a few minutes by following these steps:

1. Download the Identity Guard mobile app or log into their website
2. Browse their offerings and select a service plan that suits your security needs
3. Enter your email and create a password for your Identity Guard account
4. Click on the Create Your Account button
5. Enter your billing information

And you’re done! Enrollment is easy and can be completed within 10 minutes. You can sign up for an account even if you have a credit freeze on your credit reports.

Some of the information you will be asked to provide during enrollment include:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Date of birth
• Social Security Number
• Email
• Credit card information (for billing purposes)

Identity Guard’s dashboard has a simple interface that is very easy to use. On the platform, you can manage your online identity and mitigate potential security risks.

Identity Guard Review: Pricing

Identity Guard has three plans with two size options for individuals and families. These include:

• Value Plan
• Total Plan
• Ultra Plan

The plan pricing ranges from $7.50 to $39.99 per month. The plan packages for individuals billed annually are the most affordable, while those billed monthly for families can be quite pricey.

All packages include Identity Guard’s key offerings and should cover most of your identity protection needs. The premium plans include a few additional services for more robust security.

While Identity Guard does not offer a money-back guarantee or free trial, they do have seasonal discounts on their products.
Their family plans allow you to add up to four adults and unlimited children (under the age of 18). This is an excellent feature that you won’t find in most competitor offerings. All members on the plan must reside at one home address.

Family members are required to enroll using the invitation email sent to them. These are sent as soon as the primary member has added the email IDs to their plan. Once signed up, Identity Guard provides multiple levels of encryption and access controls to secure your and your family members’ data.

Identity Guard Review: Customer Service

One of the best features of subscribing to Identity Guard is its restoration services. Users are partnered with a dedicated case manager to assist you with your case from start to finish. They cover issues related to identity theft and financial fraud.

The team also assists users in alerting the major credit bureaus, pulling your credit report, checking the report, and initiating a credit freeze immediately.

While Identity Guard doesn’t offer 24/7 support, their customer service team does respond within 24 to 48 hours of an inquiry.

They have a U.S.-based member services team available to resolve all your queries. You can contact them via phone at 1-833-363-0625 or email at customercare@identityguard.com / customersupport@identityguard.com.

They are available on call on the following schedules:

• Monday to Friday: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. (EST)
• Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST)

Ease of use is further emphasized with their cancellation procedures. Identity Guard makes updating your account information and cancellation membership a breeze. Simply log into your account or contact their support team for assistance.

Identity Guard Review: Bottom Line

Identity Guard is a robust and all-inclusive identity theft protection service. Their superior-quality monitoring is supported by IBM Watson, which is one of the best Artificial Intelligence systems available today.

Their family plan is in the top-tier in the industry, with coverage for four adults and unlimited children. Their additional features, such as social media and financial monitoring, are valuable tools for those with complex digital security requirements.

Yet, we were disappointed to see that three credit bureau monitoring is only available on the top-tier plan.

Overall, Identity Guard offers a wide variety of plans that fit the different needs of consumers. Their value-for-money pricing is a clear winner amongst competitors, and their customer service holds up. Identity Guard offers everything that consumers need when it comes to identity theft protection.

Disclosures

Identity Guard’s identity theft protection services are only available to users with a U.S. Social Security Number or a U.S. mailing address.
Their family plans cover children but restrict their access to online account monitoring and social security number monitoring features.
You will need to provide your SSN at signup, as this information is required to complete the identity verification process.

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Our reviews are the opinion of our editorial team and are not impacted by the advertising fees that our advertisers may pay us.

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