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Identity Guard vs IDShield: ID Theft Prevention Experts Examined

Based on our extensive testing, we have found that for most people, Identity Guard is the best identity theft protection service.

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by Calvin Fellows

Topic:  ID Theft

> 3 min read

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Identity Guard provides a full-life monitoring suite that provides instant alerts for everything from your children’s social media accounts to your retirement funds.

  • All financial accounts can be monitored, including your investments and retirement accounts
  • Reasonable prices for all 6 plans 
  • Analysis of the current risk of theft you face lets you be proactive instead of reactive
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IDShield provides excellent monitoring and notification services at a lesser cost for your entire family.

  • Lower cost for many of the same features
  • 4 plans to choose from to meet the various needs of consumers
  • In-house private investigators work to recover your identity
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Home Security Heroes recommends Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection Service because of its comprehensive coverage and reliable service support. All plans have $1 million insurance and a US-based customer care team.  Its basic plan offers top features while its Ultra Plan gives one of the most complete packages in the market. 

You’ve worked hard for everything you have. The last thing you want is for someone to come along and take it all from you by stealing your identity. ID theft is a risk we all face. Our lives and identities all exist in a digital realm, which isn’t very closely guarded.

Everyone should have some form of digital identity protection. If you’re looking for your digital bodyguards, Identity Guard and IDShield are two of the most popular options. In Identity Guard vs. IDShield, we extensively reviewed each plan to highlight the best options each company offers so you can arm yourself with the best identity security.

Identity Guard vs. IDShield: Comparison

WHAT YOU GET

Identity Guard

IDShield

Pricing

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We Recommend Identity Guard

Coverage

Individuals and family members

Individuals and family members (up to 10 children)

Funds Replacement and Insurance

Up to $1 million for certain costs

Up to $1 million for certain costs

ID Recovery/Monitoring

Customer care team for recovery assistance and support

  • Unlimited identity restoration services
  • Unlimited consulting
  • Access to in-house private investigators

Financial Account Monitoring

Total and Ultra plans only

All plans

Credit Monitoring

  • Value plan - none
  • Total plan - 3-bureau monitoring and 1-bureau monthly credit score
  • Ultra plan - adds a 3-bureau annual credit report.
  • All plans monitor credit with alerts
  • Payday loan monitoring
  • Monitors 1 or 3 bureaus depending on the plan

Cyber Security

  • The dark web, court document, sex offender records, home title, and address change monitoring
  • High-risk transaction monitoring

The dark web, court records, sex offender records

Social Security Number Monitoring

All plans

Both plans

QUICK FACE-OFF

Similarities

  • Both providers have options for monitoring individuals and family members
  • Stolen funds and the costs of recovering your identity are insured for up to $1 million
  • Recovering your identity and funds is challenging. Each provider has customer support agents that specialize in recovering identities
  • You can give each provider your financial account information so that they can monitor your accounts for you. Monitoring is limited to bank accounts and credit cards
  • You can protect your entire family with different plans and options. If you have a family with children, they can be protected by choosing one of the family plans
  • Your credit is monitored for attempts to use, access, or initiate new loans or transactions
  • The dark web is scoured for your information using the latest artificial intelligence technology. The software looks for instances of your name, Social Security number, bank information, or those of your family members so that you are alerted if any are found.
  • Your information is monitored to ensure it is not used in criminal cases, court records, or entered erroneously in a sex-offender database.
  • IdentityGuard has 6 total plans you can choose from, while IDShield has 4 plans that let you add members.
  • Monitoring your Social Security number is an essential part of theft detection. Both providers monitor the numbers of you and your family.

Differences

  • Changes to your passwords and pins let thieves access everything you have and block you out. These are known as high-risk transactions and are monitored by IdentityGuard, but not IDShield
  • You can choose to receive 3-bureau credit reports with individual or family plans with IDShield. IdentityGuard provides this service as well, but they include a 3-bureau annual credit report in their top-tier package
  • IdentityGuard only offers 3-bureau credit reports with their top-tier package
  • All plans from IDSheild monitor your credit, while only the top ones from IdentityGuard do
  • Both providers have customer care or ID recovery experts, but IDShield has in-house private investigators available to determine how your information was stolen
  • Your financial accounts can be monitored for activity not initiated by you. IdentityGuard only scans accounts in their top 2 packages while all of IDShield’s packages provide the service
  • IdentityGuard provides investment and 401(k) monitoring with alerts if your investments are tampered with. IDShield doesn’t have this option in any account
  • Data breaches at retailers with online services are becoming more common. Thieves steal customer data en-masse and then use or sell it on the dark web. IdentityGuard alerts you if your information is stolen in a data breach.

Identity Guard

ID Theft, Monitoring, Cyber-Security

In an era where our identities have moved online, it is much easier to impersonate someone else using their information. IdentityGuard creates a risk management report to let you know which aspects of your identity are more at risk of theft. 

Your identity and information is monitored for any use on ill-reputed domains as well as on the dark web. To further your security, you can add your family members’ social media accounts to ensure that theirs are not hijacked and held for ransom.

ID Theft, Monitoring, Cyber-Security

In an era where our identities have moved online, it is much easier to impersonate someone else using their information. IdentityGuard creates a risk management report to let you know which aspects of your identity are more at risk of theft. 

Your identity and information is monitored for any use on ill-reputed domains as well as on the dark web. To further your security, you can add your family members’ social media accounts to ensure that theirs are not hijacked and held for ransom.

Fund Replacement and Insurance

If you become a victim, IdentityGuard identity theft protection insures up to $1 million in stolen fund replacement and costs incurred to recover your identity, such as lawyer fees.

Credit, Bank, and Investment Monitoring

Identity Guard monitors your credit file and reports to ensure no unauthorized uses or changes in your credit. If there are any changes, you’re notified immediately so that you can assess the activity.

Bank accounts can be linked to your IdentityGuard account so that you have constant monitoring for suspicious activities. If you have a 401(k) or other investment accounts, you can link those as well, giving you an extra set of eyes to help you watch for predatory practices.

Plans and Pricing

Value Plan

The Value plan comes in two options, individual or family. The individual pays $7.50 per month and receives $1 million in theft insurance and care team support. They also get a risk management report, data breach, and high-risk transaction monitoring. If you upgrade to an Identity Guard family plan, it costs $12.50 per month.

Total Plan

The Total Plan is available for individual coverage for $16.67 per month. It includes everything the Value package does but adds bank account monitoring, a 1-bureau monthly credit score, and 3-bureau Identity Guard credit monitoring. The family version of this plan runs $25.00 per month.

Ultra Plan

The Ultra plan is the most comprehensive of all the plans. This plan runs $25.00 per month for an individual or $33.33 for a family.

Pros and Cons

PROS

  • A risk management report assesses your risks before there are problems
  • Data breach notifications alert you if your data is stolen from retailers at which you shop
  • The dark web is monitored for your information, with alerts sent to you if your data is found
  • Your accounts are watched so that high-risk activities such as wire transfers are caught in time
  • The package price increases are very reasonable for the upgrades that you receive
  • Each package upgrade has beneficial additions, not just fluff, for an extra charge
  • The Ultra package has an exhaustive list of features that currently cover almost every known identity theft method
  • All your finances can be watched, not just credit scores and checking accounts
  • A safe browsing extension tool is included for internet browser
  • Identity Guard App for Android and iOS

CONS

  • No antivirus or device security suite is available in any package
  • The safe browsing tool is only viable on supported browsers
  • App support appears to be very lacking
  • You’re out of luck if you need help off-hours, tech-support is not 24 hours per day
  • If you have more than $1 million in assets, you’ll need to find other ways to insure them
  • Annual credit reports are nice to have, but someone recovering their identity might need to access it more than once
  • There is no computer-specific program available, only a web-browser extension from app repositories
  • App repositories can be unreliable, and downloading browser extensions can be risky.

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IDShield

Features and Services
ID Theft, Monitoring, Cyber-Security

IDShield monitors your Social Security number to ensure an identity thief is not using it. Their internet and dark web scanning technology ensure your data is not being exchanged and sold or used to set up new accounts and services.

You’ll receive notices for any activities in your name, which keeps you in the know when someone is using your information.

Fund Replacement and Insurance

IDShield identity theft protection is similar to other assistance and notification providers in that you’re insured up to $1 million in stolen funds and costs resulting as a consequence of the theft. When you consider the extra credit reports you’ll pull, the lawyers and experts you’ll need to hire, the money you have can shrink quickly.

Credit and Bank Account Monitoring

IDShield sends you alerts if anyone tries to open credit accounts in your name or takes actions reflected in your credit file. You can give your account information to IDShield, and they monitor your accounts for you and send you alerts as their system learns your spending habits and places.

Pricing and Plans

Individual Plan, 1-Bureau, and 3-Bureau

The basic individual plan covers everything a person needs to ensure their identity is being monitored for them. The price for this essential coverage is $13.95 per month for 1-bureau monitoring alerts.

If you want more IDShield credit monitoring and support for your individual plan, you can pay $17.95 per month for 3-bureau monitoring and alerts.

Family Plan, 1-Bureau, and 3-Bureau

The family plans cover the same activities but add coverage for a spouse or domestic partner and up to 10 children. The 1-bureau monitoring and alerts plan runs $26.95 per month, and the 3-bureau monitoring and alert option are $32.95.

Pros and Cons

PROS

  • All 4 plan options are fully comprehensive, and you only pay more for essential family coverage
  • Bank account activities are fully monitored to give you immediate alerts instead of checking yourself
  • Identity theft coverage of up to $1 million is very generous and can cover the additional costs identity theft creates
  • Court documents are monitored for your data to ensure no one is using it to commit crimes
  • IDShield will handle credit report disputes for you if they are identified while you have a subscription.
  • 24-hour support means that whenever you have trouble, you can reach someone who will assist you
  • Comprehensive notification plans allow you to focus on your life, not checking every account or record every day
  • IDShield app for both Android and iOS devices.

CONS

  • No retirement or investing account monitoring and alerts
  • No antivirus or device security suite is available in any package
  • No access to credit scores except for annual tracking history.
  • Consumers can complete most of the features by themselves
  • Identity theft specialists assist by advising you on your next steps when dealing with theft. They don’t have any means to do anything for you to help recover your identity
  • The number of alerts you receive might cause you to begin overlooking alerts because there could be too many non-important ones
  • Automatic monitoring of everything can reduce your vigilance and give you a false sense of security


Conclusion

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Identity theft is a threat that looms for everyone. Luckily, you can get notified of any suspicious activity in your accounts immediately with an identity theft protection service. 

Employing current technology, companies can offer continuous account and credit monitoring so you can take action quickly when an identity thief tries to steal your information and money.

Both of these monitoring and notification providers have very comprehensive packages. However, in our opinion, the number and quality of services provided by Identity Guard outperforms IDShield, giving it the win in this battle for your identity.

From the pennies in your child’s saving account to your investments to social media accounts and court records, Identity Guard provides monitoring services that watch over your entire life.

Your family, your home, and your future are under siege by thieves. It is nearly impossible to monitor every aspect of you and your family’s lives yourself. For this reason, you need Identity Guard to help you watch over the critical elements of your life so you can focus on other aspects like time with your family.

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* 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.

About the Author

Calvin Fellows’ time on the force was a learning experience, showing him the darkest sides of humanity. What stuck out to him most was how preventable most crimes were; a couple of little things often stood between the loss of someone’s life or property, that simply wasn’t there.

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