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You’re buying a new TV for your house, but after swiping your credit card, the cashier tells you your card was declined. WHAT?!
You check your recent transactions and see that someone’s been using your card for the past month. Your identity has been stolen, and you feel like your world has been flipped upside down. This is when having an identity theft protection service, like Identity Guard, comes in handy.
Not only do these services alert you when they detect potentially fraudulent activity, but some even help you recover after the damage is done. How does Identity Guard protect your identity? With so many competing services, is it your best bet?
Article Overview
Identity Guard®
Pros
- $1 million in insurance
- Monitoring alerts sent to you quickly due to Watson AI constant scan technology
- A+ BBB rating (been BBB accredited since 1996)
- Family plans available
- 24/7 phone support for those who have lost or had their credit cards stolen
Cons
- They don’t send fraud alerts to credit bureaus
- Does not monitor sex offenders
- No free trial
Key Features
- $1 Million ID Theft Insurance** – If your identity is stolen, Identity Guard® will provide up to $1 million to help get your life back on track.
- Safe Browsing – Helps protect your privacy and secures your online activity.
- Dark Web Alerts – Notifies you if your information is exposed in black market sites, forums or chat rooms.
- Watson Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scanning – Identity Guard is the only ID theft service to utilize IBM Watson AI. Watson is an early warning system that is always scanning for vulnerabilities. If it finds a risk, it sends an alert so you can act quickly.
- Cyberbullying – Monitors for potential cyberbullying on social media.
Price
| Individual Value | Individual Total | Individual Ultra | Family Value | Family Total | Family Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price Per Month | Regular Price: Discount for our Readers: $6.67/month | Regular Price: Discount for our Readers: $13.33/month | Regular Price: Discount for our Readers: $19.99/month | Regular Price: Discount for our Readers: $10.00/month | Regular Price: Discount for our Readers: $19.99/month | Regular Price: Discount for our Readers: $26.67/month |
| $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance |  | | | | | |
| Mobile App | | | | | | |
| Online “Dark Web” Monitoring | | | | | | |
| Social Security Number Monitoring | | | | | | |
| Monthly Credit Score | | | | |
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| 3-Bureau Credit Changes | | | | |
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| Bank Account Takeovers | | | | |
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| Requests To Open Bank Accounts | | | | |
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| 3-Bureau Credit Report | | |
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| Anti-Phishing App | | | | | | |
| Safe Browsing Extension | | | | | | |
| Potential Cyberbullying On Social Media | |
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| Social Insight Report | | |
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| Individual Value | Individual Total | Individual Ultra | Family Value | Family Total | Family Ultra |
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My Experience With Identity Guard®
Identity Guard® offered us a free trial period to test out the Ultra plan in exchange for an unbiased review. I signed up for the individual plan and tested it for 3 months. Setting up my Identity Guard account was straightforward. I connected all of my personal accounts, filled out my information, answered a few questions, and monitoring began.
Troubles Downloading The App
Next, I downloaded the Identity Guard® app, and here’s where I ran into some hiccups. I kept trying to log in, but it wouldn’t take my credentials. I was stuck on this for a couple of days before reaching out to customer service, which I found very helpful. They pointed out that I needed their other app, Identity Guard with Watson. Identity Guard could do a better job of clarifying the required app to its users upfront.
Convenient Monthly Emails
Identity Guard® sends me monthly emails about my credit score* and alerts for major data breaches and other situations that may cause my identity to be in jeopardy. I appreciate these emails because it reminds me to look over my information and make sure everything’s in check.
Retirement Account Monitoring
One thing I like about Identity Guard®, that other companies lack, is that it monitors my retirement accounts. Since I’m not looking at these accounts on a consistent basis, it’s nice to know someone is watching over them for me.
Clean Dashboard
I also like the dashboard for both the desktop and app versions (see above for sample desktop dashboard). It’s simple with a more modern look compared to IDShield. However, I wish the desktop version had two-factor authentication. With the app, I can turn on “Touch ID” as an extra layer of protection.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’ve been pleased with my experience with Identity Guard®. However, I don’t think I could justify paying $29.99 per month for the service (or $19.99 once you account for the 20% discount you get with our link) when I can get similar monitoring from a competitor for much less.
What Do Customers Think?
Positive Reviews
I was referred to Identity Guard (IG) by a local bank after I noticed that my credit card account with them had some “strange” activity. I was VERY impressed by the two IG customer service representatives that I was put in contact with to discuss opening an account with them. They were very professional, explained the options and features of the programs offered by IG carefully, and I made the decision to enroll in IG without feeling any pressure to do so. – James M., Trustpilot 5/28/2019
I opened up a charge card for a Department store. I was notified right away there was a new account opened. I know it works!! – Patricia R., Trustpilot 11/15/2018
Negative Reviews
If there is an alert on my account, I only get an email notification. Lifelock sends an alert to my cell phone so I know about it immediately. I may not check my email for a couple of days so I prefer Lifelock’s system. – Suzanne F., Trustpilot 2/18/2019
Our checking account was recently hacked & when I called Identity Guard®, I was informed that you don’t monitor checking accounts. I guess I listed it needlessly along with another account. Exactly what accounts do you monitor. I’ve only been with you a couple months but am definitely looking at other options. – Rachel C., Trustpilot 10/28/2018
Identity Guard® vs Other Companies
Here’s a glance at how Identity Guard® differs from other top identity protection services.
Identity Guard® vs IdentityForce
- IdentityForce monitors sex offenders in your area, while Identity Guard® does not.
- IdentityForce provides full recovery services and 24/7 access to its fraud specialists; Identity Guard® also offers 24/7 access to specialists, but you’re responsible for all the legwork to recover your identity.
- Identity Guard® doesn’t send fraud alerts to the credit bureaus, while IdentityForce does.
See All The Differences Between Identity Guard® And IdentityForce
Identity Guard® vs IDShield
- IDShield’s Family Plan is cheaper than Identity Guard®‘s.
- Both Identity Guard® and IDShield have full recovery services, but IDShield’s fraud specialists are licensed private investigators.
Identity Guard® vs LifeLock
- Both monitor similar areas, but LifeLock also monitors the sex offender registry in your area.
- With Identity Guard® you can cover two adults and two children for only $34.99 per month. To get the same level of coverage for a family of four with LifeLock, you’ll end up spending more than $70 per month.
- LifeLock provides full recovery services and 24/7 access to its fraud specialists, who take care of most of the recovery process for you. While Identity Guard® also offers 24/7 access to specialists, you’re responsible for all the legwork to recover your identity. Identity Guard also provides up to $1 million in expense reimbursement insurance (as does LifeLock).
See All The Differences Between Identity Guard® And LifeLock
What About Other ID Theft Services?
There were 503,490,155 records exposed in 2018 in the U.S. Just because you got an email from your credit card company saying there was a security breach and it’s taking care of it, doesn’t mean it’s handled. You may need to do more. Check out the video below for more information.
And to see how Identity Guard® compares against other identity theft protection services, read our comparison article. You can learn more about Identity Guard®in our interview with CMO Barry Kessel.
Have you gotten an email saying your data is compromised?
Identity Guard® Disclosures
*The score you receive with Identity Guard is provided for educational purposes to help you understand your credit. It is calculated using the information contained in your TransUnion credit file. Lenders use many different credit scoring systems, and the score you receive with Identity Guard is not the same score used by lenders to evaluate your credit.
**Identity Theft Insurance underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group‚ Inc. The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms‚ conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms‚ conditions‚ and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions.
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I signed up for this service a few months ago for me and my wife. However, we only have one login despite the fact that we are paying for the Couples service. I have talked to customer service and billing a few times about this but they cannot seem to get it resolved. I may just have to cancel and start over to get this to work the way it should without even trying! So annoying!! Has anyone else had troubles with this or another ID theft company? I am not sure what to do…
I finally switched to Identity Guard from having LifeLock for several years and so glad I did. Identity Guard is so much better in my opinion, definitely worth the price!