Credit Site Reviews / Identity Guard

Editor's Note:

Identity Guard is offering a $5.00 monthly discount every month ($14.99 instead of $19.99) and a free 30-day trial. This give you a whopping 25% saving on your annual credit report bill.

Summary

Identity Guard are the most comprehensive, user driven credit report company on the market that offers you all of the tools you need to check not only your credit reports and scores, but also to monitor your personal and financial information, too. It's never been quicker or easier to know where you stand financially, at such a competitive price. With a free 14 day trial which includes all three of your credit scores you won't find a deal like this anywhere else. For $19.99 per month afterwards, there is no annual fee or contract to adhere to.

Overview of Pricing

If you are looking for a credit report company that will primarily protect you from identity theft and credit card fraud, Identity Guard Total Protection will be the perfect deal for you. Playing host to the largest online source for ID theft features, as well as for all of your credit report and score needs, an exclusive 30-day free trial should put Identity Guard firmly at the top of your list. With our discount these services cost $14.99 per month after the 30-day free trial, as opposed to the $19.99 standard charge; so these are definitely the providers to watch out for.

Identity theft and credit card fraud are an ever growing concern in modern society as technology advances, so finding a service that can protect your personal and financial information to suit your individual needs can be almost impossible. But that's where Identity Guard comes in. They are in no doubt the leading credit report monitoring service provider available, with a wide array of easy to navigate tools that work to not just protect your important data, but to monitor and recover your information, too. Their services are focused specifically on keeping your data safe with the right protection plans for you, so let's take a look at exactly what you can expect when you sign up.

Credit Monitoring, Reports and Scores

Firstly, Identity Guard holds the most unique and innovative technology to protect you from identity theft and more. They offer you an intuitive dashboard system that tells you exactly what you need to know and when; from status updates and quick links to your features, to showing you images of each of your credit scores as soon as you log in. Each small yet important feature is backed up by more in depth information as you go along (such as the CreditXpert scoring system and a Credit Analyzer tool), which is perfect if you need more than just a quick look in. What this means is that you can track your payment history and view each accounts' current status, you can view your public records and you can even find enhanced details about your credit score as soon as it is updated (based on data from Equifax®, Experian® and TransUnion®).

Identity Theft Protection and Tools

Identity Guard not only offer you the means to keep on top of your own affairs, they also monitor your public records, scan for application or social security fraud and they monitor the international online' black market' for the appearance of any of your credit card numbers, your Social Security number and a whole host of other personal information that can be used to commit fraud in your name. If your personal information is found anywhere it shouldn't be, Identity Guard® alert you immediately.

You can also opt to be covered by kID Sure, their own personal identity theft protection package for children. This tool protects children by monitoring current criminal, DMV and utilities records and also scans the black market for their social security numbers, too. You can add up to 15 children to your existing plan for only $5 extra month, but the children do have to be under the age of 18, with you as their legal guardian. .

In addition to these services you exclusive access to Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite. This is an award-winning Internet security solution for the PC which gives you access to anti-virus software, firewall, anti-phishing and anti-spam software (which will give you hourly security updates), definition updates, annual renewals for as long as you maintain your membership. No other credit report company offers you online ID theft protection of this nature so it really is a feature well worth considering when you shop around.

More Features and Highlights

With all this in mind, possibly the most attractive feature is Identity Guard's Identity Theft Recovery Unit, because you get access to a team of highly experienced fraud recovery agents who will work to help you to get back on track if you do become a victim of identity theft or credit card fraud. The effort and expense it takes to restore your reputation after falling victim to these is the most difficult part of the whole process, but the ID Theft Recovery Unit will be on hand to help you to minimize any costs you may incur, all whilst reinstating your original credit score as soon as possible.

Identity Guard also provide lost wallet protection, they provide $1,000,000 identity theft insurance, which covers you in the unlikely case that you are somehow victimized whilst enrolled in their services, and they offer the Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite at no additional cost to you, too.

In short they offer:

  • Lost Wallet Protection
  • Identity Theft Insurance
  • Credit Report Updates From All 3 Major Companies
  • Detailed Analysis's
  • Quarterly Credit Updates
  • ID Vault
  • PC Keyboard Encryption Software
  • Password Protection
  • Unlimited Toll Free Customer Service

How is the Customer Service?

For help and customer support from Identity Guard you can simply click a link from your dashboard that will take you to the help page. From here they offer several modes of contact, with both an email address and a postal address (for the instances where you may need to send written correspondence), and there is even a toll-free phone line where you can to talk to an extremely helpful customer service team. It may take a while to get through, but if you can't easily find a solution to your problem from their extensive FAQ section, it'll be time worth spent.

In accordance to this, you will be notified via email when you have new reports or scores available to you. Again, this is another feature that other industry competitors don't offer, so the customer service offers you much more than you would normally expect.

The Sign Up

To enrol into the total protection plan offered by Identity Guard all you need to do is provide your basic information and choose a credit or debit card as your preferred payment method. From here you will be asked to answer some questions to verify your identity and will then be forwarded to the Identity Guard Dashboard where you will be ready to go.

Pricing

The total cost of the plan is $19.99 per month, but you do get 2 weeks free membership to give you a chance to decide whether their services really are for you. There are no annual fees or a contract to adhere to so you can cancel your plan at any time. This is more than a fair deal for the services provided compared to other companies in this field, so you definitely won't be out of pocket.

Overall

It may be a tall order to protect yourself from the reality of identity theft, credit card fraud and worse, and while no company can guarantee your safety 100%, Identity Guard are there to cast a watchful eye over all of your personal information. They really do have the tools, features, functionality and personalized help to give you peace of mind and the combination of a well made user driven interface coupled with their extremely professional protection services really does give them the edge in the credit report monitoring service sector. You will be able to see your scores and reports as soon as you log in and you'll be monitoring your important information in the simplest of ways within minutes. Every feature is easily displayed for you to click, read and follow and advice is offered at every turn.