by Keith Morris
Topic: ID Theft
> 1 min read
An excellent choice for a large family that needs identity protection. It is a bit more expensive for a family to purchase and lacks the extra reimbursement of Equifax.
An all-inclusive credit and identity protection for individuals and smaller families. Provides up to $2 million in identity restoration and insurance protection.
Modern life is full of twists and turns. Some have always been present, and some have only popped up as technology has advanced. Our identities have become easy targets for thieves due to the online presence most people have. We all have social media accounts, emails, and merchant accounts — on average, Americans have 90 online accounts that thieves can tap into for information.
We need to do everything we can to ensure we secure our identities as much as possible. There are many actions we can take to deter identity theft or react more quickly. In IDnotify vs. Equifax, we’ll dive into each brand’s features and explore what makes one better than the other.
IDNotify vs. Equifax: Comparison
WHAT YOU GET | IDNOTIFY | EQUIFAX |
|---|---|---|
Pricing | ||
Coverage | ||
Insurance | ||
Identity Theft Protection | ||
Identity Restoration | ||
Credit Monitoring |
QUICK FACE-OFF
Similarities
Differences
IDnotify Features and Services
Coverage
IDnotify has comprehensive plans that can be used to protect your family members’ identities. You can purchase a plan for yourself and then add family protection to that plan. If you have children, you can add a child protection plan for an additional fee covering up to 10 children.
Insurance
Identity theft insurance provides reimbursement of expenses that you incur as a result of having your identity stolen. If it happens, you’ll need lawyers, identity theft experts in addition to those provided by the plan, and recovered document fees.
The insurance provides up to $1 million in coverage for the costs and fees, including reimbursement of stolen funds.
Identity Theft Protection and Restoration
Protections provided by IDnotify come in the form of internet surveillance and social network monitoring. Your Social Security number is traced for use depending on the plan, and court records are scanned for your information.
Identity restoration assistance is managed, which means that IDnotify’s experts do everything they can, including paperwork and phone calls, if necessary, to help you get your identity back.
Credit Monitoring
The 3 credit bureaus each have a file that contains your credit history. Your file is monitored for changes or inquiries, and you’ll receive alerts if any incidents are found. Credit inquiries are initiated by merchants that check someone’s credit. If your file receives an inquiry not created by you, someone is using your information.
Plans and Pricing
Essential
The Essential plan covers basic identity protection needs. The internet and dark web are scanned, and your credit is monitored. You receive insurance and restoration services along with lost wallet assistance. The Essential plan costs $9.99 per month, plus $10 for a family and $5 for up to 10 children.
Select
The middle-tier plan adds address monitoring, court record monitoring along with an annual credit report, and your monthly Vantage score. The plan runs $17.99 per month, and the addition of a family and children costs $10 and $5, respectively.
Premier
The IDnotify family plan, Premier, adds 3-bureau credit file monitoring, credit snapshots, a credit score simulator, and payday loan monitoring. You’ll also receive financial account monitoring and alerts and 7 other monitoring and alert services through the IDnotify app. The plan costs $25.99 per month and can be upgraded for family and children.
Pros and Cons
PROS
CONS
Equifax Features and Services
Coverage
Equifax’s protection plans cover up to 2 adults and 4 children. However, you must purchase the family plan for your family to be covered. The Premier and Family plans have the exact same features, except for adding family members.
Insurance
In each plan, you receive up to $1 million in insurance coverage for expenses related to identity theft. The $1 million covers lawyer’s fees, expert fees, document replacement, and other fees.
Identity Theft Protection and Restoration
You receive $1 million in stolen fund reimbursement with each plan. You have to ensure you’re communicating with Equifax to be reimbursed because they have strict deadlines for filing reports that must be met.
Equifax has experts ready to assist you in restoring your identity. They’ll help you with the tasks and even do the paperwork for you. The Essential plan is the only plan that doesn’t include identity restoration services.
Credit Monitoring
Nearly all three plans are the same regarding credit monitoring except for the Essential plan, where you don’t receive credit scores. Otherwise, you receive 3-bureau reports, scores, and file monitoring.
You’ll receive alerts via the Equifax app if any of your credit files are accessed and can freeze your credit file from the free app. You can unfreeze it anytime you need to access your credit, then lock it up again.
Pricing and Plans
IDPatrol
In the lowest tier plan from Equifax, you receive everything except credit scores and restoration services. IDPatrol costs $16.95 per month and includes theft insurance, fund replacement, and internet scanning.
Premier
The Premier plan adds credit scores and identity restoration services for $19.95 per month.
Family
The Equifax family plan includes all the features offered by the company. The only difference is that you can add one more adult and up to four children. All family members will receive the same benefits through your plan. Children’s credit files are automatically locked to keep them from being accessed by anyone.
Pros and Cons
PROS
CONS
Conclusion
IDnotify and Equifax have very similar features and benefits in their identity protection suites. Each one offers multiple features for monitoring your credit and receiving alerts, but only 1 has an option to help you monitor your financial accounts.
Equifax provides more restoration insurance in the form of stolen funds, but IDnotify scans public records and court documents for your information. We are disappointed to see that neither of the companies offers any assistance in securing your devices since all of our data is stored on them. An antivirus suite and VPN would add an extra measure of security for consumers.
You can lock and unlock your credit file for free, get reports and talk to the bureaus when you need help. It is helpful to have our credit files, credit reports, and financial accounts monitored for us. Still, it seems more beneficial to assist with the costs of recovering from identity theft.
We choose Equifax over IDnotify, due to the separation of stolen fund replacement and restoration fees. In the end, no one can prevent identity theft no matter how much is monitored. The only thing we can do is recover, and Equifax has better plans to assist with that.
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About the Author
Keith Morris is a 20+ year veteran of the security game, with the knowledge and experience to set you on the right track toward personal safety and security. His firm is committed to giving you the tools and know-how to combat any threat to your safety.
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