Identity Guard Review

COMPLETE REVIEW

Identity Guard is an identity theft protection service founded in 2001by Intersections Inc. It is based in Virginia and claims to have helped over 36 million costumers so far.

It also has a Canadian version of the service, provided through a partnership with Aimia, a company specialized in loyalty management services. The partnership was formed in 2002.

Identity Guard offers several identity theft protection services, with different plans, for different budgets. All the packages include credit, social security, public record and online black market monitoring, account takeover alerts and ID verification alerts.

The Essentials plan starts from $9,99/month and includes black market web surveillance, stolen wallet assistance, social security number protection, ID verification alerts and account takeover alerts, identity theft victim assistance, resolution services and others.

Unlike most of its competitors, Identity Guard includes $1 million identity theft insurance in all their plans, even the Essentials.

The Total Protection plan starts from $19,99/month and in addition to the features included in Essentials, you also get credit report updates from 3 bureaus and quarterly credit score updates, mobile access to your account, PC keyboard encryption and antivirus software, protection for your bank account information, street address, email, driver’s license number and others.

The top plan is Platinum, which starts from $24,99/month and adds to your package monthly credit score updates, 3-bureau credit analyzer, protection for your loans and leases information and others.

There are also packages for couples, family and kids, each with its own pricing.

The kids plan stresses how information can be stolen at school, at the doctor’s, online, etc. and protects their identities through features such as social security monitoring, child’s ID footprint report with an analysis, public records monitoring and others.

There is also a 30 days trial included with Identity Guard. For only $5 you can try any of the three plans.

Another useful thing is the fact that Identity Guard offers up to $2,000 in emergency cash, in case you lose your wallet.  

The interface is user friendly and intuitive. You can easily see new notifications and have a clear overview of all the features (active, pending, not purchased, etc ). The sign up process is simple and quick. It only takes a few minutes. You have to enter your contact details, payment information and so on. You also have to answer a few verification questions and then you are all set.

In terms of monitoring services, Identity Guard includes most of your personal info, such as your social security number, name, address, bank accounts, etc. You also get access to all 3 credit bureau credit reports, if you sign up for the higher tier plans.

Identity Guard protects your online activities by providing free antivirus, PC keyboard encryption software and password protection. The PC Keyboard Encryption Software is available with Total Protection and Platinum but only works on Windows devices.

Recovery services include assistance in canceling your stolen credit cards and all the following steps, $1 million identity theft insurance for different expenses and access to up to $2,000 in emergency cash, in case your wallet is stolen or you lose it. One drawback for Identity Guard is the fact that the service doesn’t include mailing list removal like other competitors. For instance, with LifeLock you also get reduced pre-approved credit card offers.   

Identity Guard lets you enter several bank accounts and up to 20 credit cards for monitoring. However, the drawback is the fact that unlike with some competitors, with them you are not allowed to register more email addresses or multiple phone numbers.

The service doesn’t provide sex offender lists either.

The Total Protection and Platinum plans also include account access through mobile app, compatible with iOS and Android devices. You can access your notifications, credit scores and reports on the go, anytime you want.

With this 2 plans you also get 3-bureau credit analyzer, which is a simulator that helps you better understand how your financial choices can affect your credit scores. The feature lets you choose between different scenarios, such as getting a new credit, closing an account and so on and then lets you know if that was a smart decision or not, by automatically adjusting your credit scores.

Identity Guard sends its alerts through email and you can see the notifications in your message center. If you want to receive alerts through their mobile app, you can only get that with Total Protection or Platinum. The basic plan doesn’t include push notifications or SMS.

Another plus for this service is the fact that they don’t spam your email address with offers and excessive advertising like some competitors. The only promotional offers you’re going to bump into are the ones displayed on their website.