The average identity theft incident costs the victim thousands of dollars in damage. However, damages can be even worse if identity theft is left undetected for an extended period. Identity theft protection services can protect you against various forms of fraud, such as credit-related fraud or criminal identity theft.
With three individual identity theft plans and additional options for families, Identity Guard can offer you the peace of mind that your identity is secure. It's important to know how to recover from identity theft and to be prepared if it ever happens to you.
Business Insider's personal finance team compared Identity Guard to the best identity theft protection services and found it to be one of the best options currently on the market, largely thanks to its flexibility.
Identity Guard Overview
Identity Guard is an identity theft protection service owned by Aura, another credit monitoring and theft protection company Business Insider considers to be one of the best. Identity Guard is nothing to shrug at, either.
With annual membership rates that are very competitive with other identity theft protection services and a comprehensive family plan covering up to five adults and unlimited children, Identity Guard may be a very good fit for your needs. Even its cheapest plan, Value, offers dark web monitoring, which many services reserve for their more expensive tiers. The Value plan is also one of the cheapest identity theft protection plans on the market.
$8.99 to $29.99 monthly for individuals, $14.99 to $39.99 monthly for families
Pros
Cons
Identity Guard is an identity theft protection service owned by Aura, another credit monitoring and theft protection company that made it to our guide for the best identity theft protection services for the best family plan. Identity Guard offers many of the same benefits as Aura with added flexibility, earning it a top spot on our list of best identity theft protection services.
Identity Guard- Fraud monitoring and alerts, monitor your name, Social Security number (SSN) and driver's license number to prevent identity fraud and will alert you if we detect your personal information is exposed
- 24/7/365 US-Based Fraud Agents
- Credit monitoring and bank account protection
- $1,000,000 identity theft insurance
Compare Identity Guard
$17.99 monthly or $179.99 annually
Pros
Cons
$15 monthly or $144 annually
Pros
Cons
Aura ID Theft Protection offers comprehensive identity protection at some of the best prices on the market, which should be expected from one of the services we included in both our credit monitoring and identity theft protection guides.
Aura- All plans come with 24/7 customer support
- Every adult member on your plan is backed by $1,000,000 insurance policy to cover eligible losses and fees due to identity theft.
- Enjoy a 60-day money-back guarantee on annual plans.
- 60-day money back guarantee is only available for annual plans purchased through Aura’s websites (excludes Amazon) or via the Customer Support team.
$29.95 monthly or $299.50 annually
Pros
Cons
- What you need to know: There are various types of credit scores, and lenders use a variety of different types of credit scores to make lending decisions. The credit score you receive is based on the VantageScore 3.0 model and may not be the credit score model used by your lender.
- $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance
- Password Manager
- Credit Monitoring: 3 Bureau
- Credit Score Simulator
- Quarterly 3 Bureau Credit Scores and Credit Reports
- Credit Freeze & Credit Report Fraud Assistance
How Identity Guard works
Identity Guard has three plans: Value, Total, and Ultra. Each plan also has a family version, providing the same coverage level for five adults and unlimited children.
| Value | Total | Ultra | |
| Identity theft insurance | $1 million | $1 million | $1 million |
| Data breach notifications | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dark web monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| High-risk transaction monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Safe browsing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Password manager | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank account monitoring | No | Yes | Yes |
| Three-bureau monitoring | No | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly credit score | No | Yes | Yes |
| 3-bureau annual credit report | No | No | Yes |
| Experian credit lock | No | No | Yes |
| White glove fraud resolution | No | No | Yes |
| Criminal and sex offense monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Social media monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Credit & debit card monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| 401(k) & investment account monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Home title monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Address change monitoring | No | No | Yes |
Key Features of Identity Guard
Identity Guard offers quite a few features. Let's unpack some of these.
White Glove Fraud Resolution
White Glove Fraud resolution is a key feature for Identity Guard and Aura. Exclusive to Identity Guard Ultra, the service provides you with a case manager to help you recover your identity if you're the victim of identity theft. With this manager, you can create a plan to recuperate any losses due to identity theft.
Credit Monitoring and Credit Reports
If an identity thief obtains your Social Security number, they will usually try to use it to borrow money under your name. It's important to catch any instances of identity theft early to mitigate damages. Identity Guard reviews your credit report and notifies you of any changes it detects. Identity Guard reserves monitoring of all three of the major credit bureaus for their upper subscription tiers, but a little credit monitoring is better than none.
Depending on which plan you sign up for, Identity Guard also provides annual credit reports from the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Dark web and criminal activity monitoring
Dark web monitoring and criminal activity monitoring are two of the services that most identity theft protection services perform that are hard to replicate on your own. Dark web monitoring scans the dark web for any personal information that may be exchanging hands, which services like Identity Guard can spot for you. Criminal activity monitoring and sex offender registry monitoring perform similar functions, monitoring public records for instances of potential criminal identity theft.
Reimbursements
Identity Guard offers up to $1 million in identity theft insurance for stolen funds. Under the family plan, each adult member is individually covered.
Identity Guard Pros and Cons
Identity Guard Pros:
- Easy set-up
- Value Plan offers dark web monitoring
- Each plan has a family version for up to five adults and unlimited children
Identity Guard Cons:
- Fraud resolution is reserved for the most expensive plan
- There isn't a free trial period
- No guarantee against identity theft
Identity Guard Cost and Fees
Identity Guard has six plans when you include its family memberships. Prices for Identity Guard range from $8.99 to $29.99 monthly for individuals, $14.99 to $39.99 monthly for families. You get a discount if you sign up for the annual membership. Here's the full spread of prices you'd pay monthly:
| Monthly subscription | Annual subscription | |
| Value | $8.99 | $7.50 |
| Total | $19.99 | $16.67 |
| Ultra | $29.99 | $25.00 |
| Family Value | $14.99 | $12.50 |
| Family Total | $29.99 | $25.00 |
| Family Ultra | $39.99 | $33.33 |
To enroll in Identity Guard, you simply need to choose the right plan and put in the necessary information, such as your email, phone number, birthday, and Social Security number. You will also have to confirm your identity. Once your account is set up, your identity theft protection service should begin immediately.
Identity Guard Reviews and Ratings
Identity Guard's mobile app is fairly well-reviewed, receiving an average of 4.2 stars on its Apple app store page and 3.1 stars on Google Play. It is consistently responsive to customers compared to other identity theft protection services, with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Identity Guard is also well-reviewed on Trustpilot, receiving an average of 3.8 stars out of five across 4,475 customer reviews.
Identity Guard Alternatives
While Identity Guard might be one of the best identity protection services, it's competing in a competitive industry. See how Identity Guard stacks up against some of its competitors.
LifeLock vs Identity Guard
LifeLock Standard and Identity Guard have very comparable services at their highest tiers. This comparison doesn't do LifeLock any favors, though. As one of the leading names in cybersecurity, the service offers little cybersecurity protection. You can opt to add Norton 360, which gives cybersecurity measures, but it will cost extra.
That said, LifeLock includes recovery services with its cheapest plan, which Identity Guard does not. LifeLock also offers 24/7 member support, while Identity Guard restricts support to business hours.
Read our LifeLock review.
IdentityForce vs Identity Guard
IdentityForce UltraSecure and Identity Guard are very closely matched at first glance, charging similar monthly prices for their highest-tier subscriptions. It's worth noting that Identity Guard has a better annual subscription discount than IdentityForce, but IdentityForce offers a free trial. Identity Guard's family plan also covers five adults and unlimited children, while IdentityForce only covers two adults and unlimited children.
That said, you get more for your money when you subscribe to IdentityForce. While their services are pretty one-to-one, IdentityForce has a better suite of cybersecurity tools, including a VPN and anti-keylogger software. Additionally, IdentityForce offers fraud resolution with its cheaper plan, while Identity Guard reserves fraud resolution for its most expensive tier.
IdentityForce is also included in our guide on the best credit monitoring services.
Read our IdentityForce review.
Identity Guard's service is on the pricey side compared to some of its competitors listed in our guide on the best identity theft protection services on the market.
| Company | Monthly subscription cost |
| Identity Guard | $8.99 to $29.99 monthly for individuals, $14.99 to $39.99 monthly for families |
| LifeLock Ultimate Plus | $34.99 monthly or $239.88 for first year, then $339.99 upon renewal |
| Aura | $15 monthly or $144 annually |
| IDShield | Starting at $14.95/month |
| PrivacyGuard | $9.99 per month |
| Complete ID | $8.99 monthly for Executive members, $13.99 monthly for Business and Gold Star members |
| IdentityForce UltraSecure+Credit | $29.95 monthly or $299.50 annually |
Frequently Asked Questions About Identity Guard
How effective is Identity Guard at preventing identity theft?
Identity Guard is as effective at preventing identity theft as any other identity theft protection service. It offers robust features like credit monitoring and dark web scanning to protect your identity.
Can I cancel Identity Guard?
You can cancel Identity Guard by calling 855-993-3061 or emailing customercare@identityguard.com. You can also cancel through your account dashboard. You must cancel your account at least one day before the commencement of the next billing cycle, or else you will be charged for an additional term.
Does Identity Guard offer a money-back guarantee?
Yes, Identity Guard offers a money-back satisfaction guarantee with terms and conditions.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Evaluate ID Theft Companies
We evaluate identity protection services based on how well they can protect, monitor, and recover your identity. We consider:
- Key services that all identity protection services should have, such as dark web monitoring and public records monitoring
- We also look at whether an identity theft protection service includes credit monitoring and how comprehensive that monitoring is
- Features that help the customer recover their identity if it's stolen
- How high up a tiered pricing system you must get to unlock certain features and how much the most expensive tier costs
- Customer ratings to identify any issues
- Features such as return policies, family plans, free trials, and annual discounts
Using this evaluation method, Identity Guard is an excellent service if you're in the market for light protection, as the Value plan is one of the cheapest services on the market. While Identity Guard does offer more secure plans, you'll find strong plans at a lower price elsewhere.
Read our full explanation of how we rate identity theft protection services.
