Best Identity Theft Protection

With the evolution of technology, cybersecurity has increasingly become a menace in diverse forms. Identity theft has become rampant, and fraudsters take credit in your name, damaging your credit record.

Identity theft protection assists you to effectively detect, recover, and prevent cases of identity theft. In addition, these services provide monitoring of your credit files and advise you on the best ways to maintain high credit scores.

If you ever wonder what the best identity theft protection is, you can find out here.

We offer an in-depth review of the best identity theft protection services you can use and answer common FAQs.

Continue reading to learn more as we make a comparison of the best identity theft protection services.

Mini-Reviews

Our buying guide entails a review of the five best identity protection services. We highlight their pros and cons to help you make better decisions about your creditworthiness.  

This identity theft protection review helps you narrow your options in identifying the best identity theft protection companies.

We provide a review of identity theft protection services you can use for optimum protection in the form of the best family identity theft protection.

At the end of this buying guide, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the best identity theft protection services.

Be sure to go through the FAQs section to get answers to some of your possible concerns regarding identity theft protection services.

Winner – Best Overall: Lexington Law

If you value good credit performance, identity protection, and reputation, Lexington Law is by far one of the best identity theft protection companies.

After intense research of the best identity protection services, our review establishes that Lexington Law is the ultimate winner of this identity theft protection services review.

The firm primarily focuses on providing credit repair and identity protection services. By focusing on credit repair, it has set up policies that protect your identity by ensuring accuracy and consistency.

With the rise of cybercrime, Lexington Law further uses the latest monitoring techniques for better identity theft protection. The use of consumer reports for advanced identity protection services makes Lexington Law stand out from the rest and is among the top available identity theft protection services. 

Part of their credit repair plan is to remove any damage resulting from identity theft. They do this by removing any inaccurate and questionable activities from your credit report. In addition, to further protect you, Lexington Law creates disputes in identity theft and escalates the dispute until they obtain desirable results.

Pros

To understand why Lexington Law dominates the top of identity theft protection services, let’s have a detailed look at its benefits. This identity theft protection services review highlights its pros based on the best identity theft protection consumer reports.  

• Insurance: When an identity theft disaster strikes, Lexington Law offers $25,000 insurance to help you recover and keep going. This insurance offer makes Lexington Law top the best identity theft protection companies.
• Real-time protection: Lexington Law monitors your spending to identify any potential fraud by comparing reports. If there is abnormal spending on your credit card, Lexington Law sends real-time alerts to protect you from identity theft. Consumers love this feature making for one of the best identity theft protection consumer reports.
• Readily available support: Lexington Law uses efficient online support to serve your needs effectively. You don’t need to go through tedious calls and be put on hold. Their support is almost instant! Besides, you can contact them through their online chat feature on their website. Efficient support makes Lexington Law an effective service for its customers.
• Free consultation: Enjoy a free consultation regardless of your plan. The free consultation helps you to identify loopholes in your identity protection and how you can improve your credit performance.
• Uses real lawyers: You have a guarantee of quality and professional work by Lexington Law’s staff. Real lawyers file and escalate disputes for you. Then, sit back and relax while Lexington Law handles all your problems.
• Good service plans: Lexington Law has straightforward plans without any hidden fees. They never compromise on the services that they provide in their plans. What you pay for is what you get!
• Complex identity protection algorithms: Prevention is better than cure! Lexington’s complex algorithms monitor your credit spending all day and instantly identify and report any abnormalities. As a result, you can lock your credit card immediately before the damage increases.

Cons

• High fees for services.

Runner Up: Experian

Take control of your identity protection by choosing Experian. Experian is among the best identity theft protection companies for multiple reasons.

This company offers the best family identity theft protection. Keep your credit report score shining with Experian. It has come a long way to enhance monitoring and threat protection for its customers.

Experian goes the extra mile to protect you against identity theft by employing advanced monitoring algorithms. These algorithms analyze your regular credit card spending to identify any aberrations.

Experian has two main plans for identity theft protection. Using the basic plan protects your identity only. Choosing their premium plan enhances your identity protection by integrating comprehensive monitoring of your credit through three major credit bureaus.

Ultimately, Experian offers comprehensive ID protection for you and your family! The other two credit bureaus are solid, but Experian just has the edge on them in our opinion.

Pros

• 30-day trials: All their packages have a free trial. The trial provides almost the same services as the full-paid plan. After you enroll in the trial plan, protection and monitoring commence within 48 hours. If dissatisfied with the service, you can cancel the trial if it’s within 30 days.
• Experian has both individual and family ID protection plans. Family plans offer cover for up to 2 adults and ten children. It is arguably the best family identity theft protection service. 
• Complex monitoring algorithms: Anomalies outside your regular credit records trigger fraud alerts. Complex algorithms help in early fraud detection.
• Identity theft insurance: Experian offers the best insurance policies for identity theft protection. In case of identity theft, the IdenityWorks Premium package provides insurance of up to $1 million!
• Real-time alerts: Experian sends real-time alerts for any attempted credit inquiries and attempted theft. You can lock your credit card instantly after an alert to prevent further damage. 
• Around-the-clock dark web surveillance to protect your identity. The company identifies any dark web activities relating to credit cards instantly and reports these as possible fraud. This feature adds an extra layer of identity theft protection for you and your family.   
• U.S.-based specialists for fraud resolution and dispute escalation. Experian uses experienced and knowledgeable professionals to help you through legal proceedings relating to disputes. 
• Additional discounts for annual payments.
• Verifications for address changes: This best family identity protection service sends an alert when someone tries to change your address or personal information.

Cons

• You must provide your credit card information to access Experian’s trials.
• Choosing the basic plan only monitors credit reports and does not provide fraud protection.
• You have to pay annually to enjoy discounts.

Alternative 1: Self Inc.

Identity theft makes you feel violated. When someone impersonates you to drain all your hard-earned cash, it’s heavy to take without sufficient resources to support action.

It’s good to be ready and protect yourself against fraud by using Self Inc. guarantees you safety against any impersonation. Moreover, in case of an ID theft situation, Self Inc. is among the best in our comparison of identity protection services.

Our review of identity theft protection services found many benefits of using Self Inc. that make it the ultimate choice for any serious consumer. Save yourself unnecessary headaches when you become a victim of fraudulent activities and misuse of your ID by obtaining cover from Self Inc.

Self Inc. has an excellent consumer rating, which means that most customers are satisfied with their services. The rating of this company reflects the effort that Self Inc. invests in protecting its customers with the best ID protection services.

Enough of the introduction. Let’s investigate the pros and cons of Self Inc. and what makes it so popular among the best identity protection services.

Pros

In our identity theft protection services reviews, Self Inc. possesses many benefits that make it a suitable option for consumers. It has also gained much popularity according to the best identity theft protection consumer reports.

• Around-the-clock credit monitoring: Self Inc. provides 24/7 monitoring of your credit card and identifies activities outside your everyday spending. Any sign of fraud triggers an alert for proactive protection against identity theft.
• Promotes credit score while providing identity theft protection. This identity theft protection services review ranks Self Inc. as one of the most reliable options for better ID protection services.
• Free tool to build your credit score and recover from identity theft. Our best identity theft protection services reviews find no other company with free inbuilt tools to this extent.
• User-friendly user interface: The straightforward and unique design is user-friendly. You don’t need technical expertise to use Self Inc.  
• Get a savings account topped by identity theft protection: Self Inc. helps you save money while maintaining good identity theft protection.

Cons

• Does not provide the best real-time ID theft monitoring.
• It focuses more on credit score management and not identity theft protection.
• Extraordinary fees: You pay some fees even for registration with Self Inc.
• Unreliable customer service response. Our identity theft protection service reviews uncovered that Self Inc’s response to email takes five days while live chat service takes around 24 hours.
• Poor customer service responding to fraud.

Alternative 2: Identity Guard

With the constant threat of ongoing identity theft taking place, you also need continuous and reliable protection. Identity Guard is arguably the best family identity theft protection in our identity theft services reviews.

Identity Guard has extraordinary value for that extra layer of protection for your family. It has overcome the existing limitations in this field to deliver the best family identity protection services.

Over 50 million people trust Identity Guard for identity theft protection. This high number of users enhances its reputation giving it an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau.

With Identity Guard, you can choose one plan or cover for the whole family. The plan covers all members, and each family member has their personal login details under one plan.

Identity Guard has a solid reputation for providing all-around identity theft protection. It surpasses the expectations of many with its advanced algorithms that proactively protect you against identity theft. This review of identity theft protection services recommends Identity Guard to anyone with a family.

Here is a detailed overview of the pros and cons of Identity Guard.

Pros

The secret behind having almost 50 million users lies in the benefits of Identity Guard:

• Advanced dark web monitoring: This best family identity theft protection via IBM’s Watson systems monitors the dark web. It monitors fraudulent activities associated with your personal information. Proactive detection gives you room to quickly change personal details such as passwords to prevent further damage.
• Real-time monitoring and alerts: Identity Guard sends instant alerts and reports any irregularities in your personal information. It checks your credit card information and sends alerts in case of any signs of possible fraud. Receive bank and tax refund alerts with Identity Guard.  
• Protection against cyberbullying: Identity Guard takes extra measures to protect you and your family against cyberbullies. Instant response and follow-ups to cyberbullying cases provide that additional protection, which is a unique service offering. Best identity theft protection consumer reports mention Identity Guard as the best for family members.
• Efficient fraud resolution: Identity Guard dedicates case managers to do follow-ups and resolution of cases of ID theft. Efficient and professional staff will help you and your family obtain fast solutions to ID theft cases.
• Family package: Identity Guard has a flat rate to cover your whole household.
• Best insurance: You’ll receive a reimbursement of up to $1 million for serious identity theft and loss of money.
• Safe browsing tools: Protect your young ones by restricting the sites and content they can access online.

Cons

• You may experience billing even after canceling the free trial package.
• Long holds when calling customer care.
• Long cycles before receiving reimbursements.

Alternative 3: Credit Karma

Credit Karma is the best free identity theft protection service. You can access different features to protect your identity against fraudulent activity.

They mostly use credit card information to give you the best identity theft protection. Constant monitoring of your credit card information and sending alerts of possible fraud gives you the time to take necessary action to halt fraudulent activity quickly.

A combination of good credit score ratings and identity theft monitoring guarantees security for you. However, with the rampant increase of cybercrimes, you’ll require the services of Credit Karma for constant protection.

Pros

• Dark web monitoring to find threats: Credit Karma checks if your personal information has been exposed to the dark web. Instant alerts are sent to you if there if information leaks about your credit card or social security number on the dark web. This proactive monitoring enables you to take the necessary action to end this type of activity.
• Free advice: Credit Karma helps you create better passwords and guide you on keeping your identity secure.
• Credit card alerts: You’ll receive alerts for any atypical activities on your credit card.
• Free services–no need to capture credit card information.
• Sends alerts from TransUnion and Equifax bureaus.
• Direct dispute feature for faster resolution of cases.

Cons

• Since it’s free, there are drawbacks in their response time to disputes and alerts.
• It does not monitor three bureaus: You’ll need an extra identity theft protection service for enhanced protection.

Best Identity Theft Protection: FAQs

What is the best identity theft protection? Why do I need to protect my family against identity theft? These are some of the common questions people ask. Well, we’ve done our research on some of the frequently asked questions regarding identity theft protection.

In our previous section, we made a comparison of identity theft protection services. Besides, we answer the question ‘what is the best identity theft protection?’ through our identity theft protection reviews.

After reading our review of identity theft protection services, check out these detailed answers to some of your FAQs.

Is identity theft insurance worth the money?

While it’s essential to protect yourself and your family from identity theft, obtaining identity insurance isn’t really worth the money.

It will surprise you to learn that in case of identity theft on your credit card, you’ll encounter no out-of-pocket losses. According to the Bureau of Justice, statistics show that about 88% of victims of ID theft experience out-of-pocket losses as low as $1.  

Besides, your credit card provider and the bank have free fraud protection services. The secret is early reporting of possible fraud alerts from your card. In addition, banks provide full refunds for all fraud that you report promptly.

The most you will pay for compensation for identity theft is around $50. Compared with the money you’ll spend on credit insurance, you are better off without it.

Ensure that you familiarize yourself with best practices for safeguarding your identity. These practices will help you secure your accounts and reduce the risks of identity theft.

If you feel the need to buy insurance, check out our review of the best identity theft protection companies. Some of these companies offer the best insurance packages to cover you against identity theft.

How can I protect myself from identity theft?

Protecting yourself against identity theft demands proactive steps. Having secure passwords and putting in the extra effort to keep your details as private as possible are some of the first steps you should take to protect yourself.

Here is a list of steps you can take to protect yourself:

1. First, always destroy any hardcopy private records or financial statements.
2. Use an extra layer of security in your email login–2-step verification works best.
3. Safeguard your personal information, such as your social security number.
4. Protect your credit card–try as best you can not to lose your card and report a lost or stolen credit card as quickly as possible.

You can further protect yourself by having a good identity theft protection service. You are in luck; our detailed comparison of identity theft protection services should give you enough information to take the next step.  

You’ll get the best identity protection consumer reports from our top five best ID theft protection reviews. These best identity theft protection companies keep you and your family secure against identity theft.

What are you liable for if your identity is stolen?

In matters concerning identity theft, time is your best friend and enemy. Time is money, and the faster you act, the less the losses.

Being a victim of ID theft can be daunting. So you can imagine the feeling you have when a collection agency calls you regarding past-due accounts. The feeling is worrying, to say the least.

So, as a victim of ID theft, what are you liable for? First, it’s good to know that you won’t be responsible for anything if you promptly report suspicious activity to your bank or other relevant authority.

Federal law stipulates that you’ll be liable for no more than $50 of the total loss in case of fraud on your credit card. In many instances, you won’t pay for any loss but make sure you notify your financial institution instantly you become aware of a problem.

Can I get compensation for identity theft?

Yes, you can get compensation for identity theft. However, the compensation comes after a series of steps that you must follow.

As mentioned earlier, timely reporting of possible fraud is your best protection. Ensure that you never ignore abnormal alerts on your credit card. Taking proactive steps to report and allay further damage increases your chances of receiving compensation.

Besides, an identity theft lawsuit through a consumer class action attorney gets you started on the recovery path. However, such cases may be tedious and cause unnecessary headaches.

Save yourself the headaches by choosing a good identity protection service. Our identity theft protection service reviews have the best options you can choose. Lexington Law is by far the best among the best identity theft protection companies.

Conclusion

We have answered the question of what is the best identity theft protection. This review of identity theft protection services is enough for you to take proactive steps to secure your personal information.

Protect yourself from the adverse effects of identity theft by choosing the best family identity theft protection.

Even with all these ID protection services, failure to take proactive steps to protect your personal information leaves you vulnerable.

Ultimately, protecting your credit score by using the best credit monitoring services also impacts your identity theft protection. Good identity theft protection guarantees you good credit scores in your report. Act now.

Resources:

• Forbes
• Experian
• Creditdonkey
• Self
• Identityguard
• Security
• Creditkarma