In 2017, millions of Americans fell victim to identity theft (of various personal information), resulting in the loss of $16.8 billion, according to Javelin Strategy & Research.
Why are identity protection services important?
These days, it is common for personal data and information to be breached and leaked. There are many things you can do to protect your identity. Some of these include regularly checking your bank accounts, credit cards, and getting a credit report. However, all of these can be difficult and time-consuming. In these cases, an identity protection service helps. These services monitor personal information and send alerts if they detect any suspicious activity.
The six services presented below (based on research data) have several common elements: monitoring files, bank accounts, credit cards and suspicious movements. All services also send notifications ( email , SMS), have iOS and Android apps , and if your personal information is stolen, they take care of restoring it. However, identity protection services also differ in several ways in terms of their benefits. In addition, only two of them provide two-factor authentication to protect your accounts.
IdentityForce UltraSecure + Credit
The IdentityForce UltraSecure + Credit service combines quality and price. It provides excellent protection without having to pay too much money. Every three months, credit scores and reports are updated. With the exception of investment accounts, all other personal accounts are monitored. It also offers the possibility of returning stolen funds. The IdentityForce service also includes two-factor authentication to more effectively protect your account. However, email and SMS notifications are not very frequent.
LifeLock Ultimate Plus
LifeLock Ultimate Plus is one of the more expensive services, but it's worth the money since it monitors most types of data. It also offers the ability to return stolen funds. However, LifeLock doesn't offer two-factor authentication.
Identity Guard Platinum
Identity Guard Platinum updates its reports every month. It also has various utilities, one of which is antivirus software. There is also coverage in case your identity is stolen. Identity Guard plans to implement IBM's Watson artificial intelligence platform. In this way, it aims to more effectively protect its customers' personal information. However, a major drawback of this service is that it does not monitor your credit card or bank account activity.
IDShield Individual
IDShield is ideal for families. It monitors bank accounts and cards, alerts in case of data breaches and more. It also offers coverage for stolen funds and investigates the case in case of identity theft.
Credit Sesame Platinum Protection
Credit Sesame provides free online financial advice. However, it is not as effective at protecting your identity. Credit Sesame Platinum Protection offers monthly reports and monitors almost all types of accounts. The downside is that the website has a lot of ads, which for most people is quite annoying.
ID Watchdog
ID Watchdog provides identity protection at a very basic level. This service monitors your records but allows you to see new reports once a year. It checks for suspicious activity but does not monitor your credit card or bank accounts. However, ID Watchdog allows you to secure your account with two-factor authentication.
