Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection Review

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Identity Guard is a well-known name in the identity theft protection industry, having been around for over 25 years. The company offers basic identity theft protection at an affordable price, as well as comprehensive, "white glove" identity and credit protection plans. Its protection packages have won multiple awards and are available for individuals and families.

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.

Best for seniors

According to FTC statistics, seniors are more likely targets for id theft due to their financial profiles and habits. Identity Guard offers several features to combat these vulnerabilities, including home title, USPS address change and 401k account monitoring. A password manager, safe browsing tools and risk assessment reports further help in this regard.

Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection pros and cons

Pros explained

Budget-friendly basic plan

At $8.99 per month, or $7.50/mo with annual billing, Identity Guard's entry-level plan is an affordable yet strong option for those who want an identity theft protection service. 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 tools 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.

Predictive risk management score

Identity Guard analyzes public, private and credit records to measure how likely you are to become a victim of identity fraud. The service also shows customers how changes to their financial health and online footprint could improve or worsen their risk score. This feature is especially useful for those at higher risk, like seniors and past victims of identity theft.

24/7/365 US-based support team

The process of restoring your identity to a pre-theft status can be lengthy and difficult to navigate. Identity Guard customers have access to a US-based support team of fraud agents that is available around the clock, every day of the year. This team works in tandem with credit reporting agencies, law enforcement and financial institutions to recover your identity.

Cons explained

Comprehensive plans are expensive

Identity Guard's Ultra plan includes all of the features available in Value and Total, plus additional identity and credit protection tools. However, this plan is on the pricier side compared to similar ones from other providers, starting at $29.99 per month. Some of the features that could be most valuable for seniors are only available on the expensive Ultra and Total plans.

Basic plan doesn't include credit monitoring

The Identity Guard Value plan comes with important features for identity theft protection but doesn't include any credit-related services. If you are looking for features such as three-bureau credit monitoring, monthly credit scores and an instant credit lock, you’ll have to purchase Identity Guard’s Total or Ultra plan, which are significantly more expensive.

Limited cybersecurity tools

Online and device security tools have become standard across identity theft protection services. This is true to such an extent that even basic plans may include a VPN, an antivirus software, tracking blockers and more. Unfortunately, Identity Guard only offers a password manager and a safe browsing extension even on its most expensive plans, which is especially unimpressive.

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
• Three-bureau credit monitoring
• Monthly credit score

Ultra

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

• White glove fraud resolution
• Social media monitoring
• Credit and debit card monitoring
• 401k and investment account monitoring
• Home title monitoring
• Criminal and sex offense monitoring
• USPS address change monitoring
• Annual credit report from the three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion)
• Access to Experian Credit Lock

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.

• 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 its Value plan, which is one of the most budget-friendly identity protection packages we’ve come across. The plan comes with identity theft insurance, basic cybersecurity tools, and data breach alerts. It even features dark web monitoring so you can keep your credit card and bank account number a secret from malicious actors.

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.

Here’s a cost breakdown for each of Identity Guard's 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+ (Superior) by AM Best as of December 15, 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 the support team and get a response within 24 to 48 hours or phone a customer representative from Monday through Saturday. Unlike other identity theft protection companies, it 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 customercare@identityguard.com.

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, where it boasts mostly positive reviews. The app has a clean, easy-to-read user interface — another positive for seniors.

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 A+ grade and an average rating of 1.11/5 based on 36 customer reviews. However, users elsewhere point out the company's solid customer service and ability to solve problems quickly.

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, which starts at just $8.99 per month and offers good id theft protection features. A generous $1 million in identity theft insurance coverage is also available with this plan. Overall, Identity Guard is also a very strong choice for seniors due to the types of identity monitoring and tools it offers to customers.

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 Total or Ultra plans. Alternatively, you can take a look at our list of the best identity theft protection services and choose one that better aligns with your needs.