In 2024, reports of identity theft topped 1 million, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) anticipates this number will only continue to climb. If you’re seeking ways to minimize your risk, IDX Identity could be a solution.
This company provides preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of identity theft, alongside expert-managed recovery services that guide and support you should your personal information be compromised. Business Insider’s personal finance team compared IDX identity theft protection to leading services and found it to be a standard offering with standard features. Read on to determine if IDX Theft Protection is the right choice for you.
IDX Overview
Founded in 2003, IDX markets itself as a leading provider of breach response services in America. The company claims to have protected over 40 million consumers from data breaches for government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. IDX is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, and operates as a subsidiary of ZeroFox, a publicly traded cybersecurity company based in Baltimore. Previously, IDX and its services have operated under various names, including ID Experts, Identity Theft Guard Solutions, and MyIDCare.
IDX Identity: Rating and Key Features
- Insider’s Rating: 2.87/5
- Fees: $9.95 monthly or $107.52 annually
- Pros:
- Identity recovery money-back guarantee
- Family plans available
- Annual discount
- Cons:
- Single-bureau monitoring only
- No protection features
- Middling customer reviews
How IDX Works
IDX offers three levels of protection with varying price points:
- IDX Identity:
- Cost: $9.95 monthly or $107.52 annually
- This plan offers monitoring tools to alert you to unusual or suspicious activity, recovery benefits if your data is compromised, and insights to help you protect your personal information.
- Features:
- Password detective
- CyberScan dark web monitoring
- Single-bureau credit monitoring
- Annual single-bureau credit report
- Court record monitoring
- Payday loan monitoring
- Change of address monitoring
- Social Security number trace
- Identity recovery
- Lost wallet coverage
- $1 million identity theft insurance
- 100% identity recovery money-back guarantee
- Actionable alerts
- Unlimited advice from recovery experts
- Fraud and protection how-to guides
- IDX Privacy
- Cost: $12.95 monthly or $132.92 annually
- Focuses on preventative measures against identity theft, rather than primarily focusing on monitoring services.
- Features:
- ForgetMe data removal
- Password manager
- Safe WiFi VPN
- Private search
- Tracking blocker
- Password detective
- Dark web monitoring
- Social media and fraud protection
- Identity recovery
- Lost wallet coverage
- $1 million identity theft insurance
- Privacy score
- Actionable alerts
- Unlimited advice from recovery experts
- Fraud and protection how-to guides
- IDX Complete
- Cost: $32.90 monthly or $355.32 annually
- Combines all the features of IDX Identity and IDX Privacy, plus a few unique features.
- Features:
- Tri-bureau credit monitoring
- Annual tri-bureau credit reports
- VantageScore 3.0 credit score
- Instant inquiry alerts
- TransUnion credit lock
Key Features of IDX Identity
Monitoring
IDX Identity offers robust monitoring capabilities, including several notable features. CyberScan dark web surveillance proactively searches the internet, alerting you if your personal information appears in data breaches or if compromised information is detected. Court record monitoring alerts you if your name is associated with arrests or convictions, allowing you to respond quickly if your identity is exploited in criminal activity.
An innovative feature of IDX Identity is the Password Detective, which scans for your online passwords to identify potentially compromised accounts. The tool helps you change your login information before it can be used maliciously. While most monitoring comes from IDX Identity, IDX Privacy also offers dark web monitoring to see if your personal data is being traded on the dark web.
Keep in mind that the Identity plan only provides monitoring from a single credit bureau, whereas many competitors also monitor all three. This can leave gaps in your coverage.
Recovery
If you become a victim of identity theft, any of IDX’s plans provide assistance in recovering losses and resolving issues that arise. Recovery begins with a dedicated U.S.-based fraud resolution representative authorized to act on your behalf to restore your identity to its pre-theft condition. You will also have access to ID specialists who can help you replace missing items from a lost wallet.
IDX also provides identity theft insurance that covers up to $1 million in expenses incurred during the recovery process. This policy covers out-of-pocket costs, such as legal fees, credit reports, and loan filing fees, as well as income lost due to identity theft. IDX backs its recovery service with a money-back guarantee that covers fees from the adverse effects of identity theft removed from your record, or you will get a refund of up to one year of fees (restrictions apply).
Insights
To help prevent identity theft, IDX offers a knowledge base with how-to advice concerning fraud protection, alerts about known data breaches, and alerts regarding various risks (even if your data is not known to be compromised). Experts are also available to provide unlimited advice and aid with taking action when needed.
IDX Pros and Cons
- Pros:
- Family plan available
- Money-back guarantee
- Alerts for suspicious activities
- Cons:
- Challenging personal data entry
- Poor customer reviews
- Cannot fully prevent identity theft
IDX Costs and Fees
You can enroll in IDX as an individual (coverage for a single adult) or as a family (coverage for two adults and up to five minors). Both options offer monthly plans or a 10% discount for annual memberships.
- Individual (monthly):
- IDX Identity: $9.95
- IDX Privacy: $12.95
- IDX Complete: $32.90
- Family (monthly):
- IDX Identity: $19.95
- IDX Privacy: $25.95
- IDX Complete: $64.99
IDX does not offer a public free trial but may provide free trials and discounted memberships through discount codes. These are typically available through targeted mailers sent to individuals impacted by data breaches.
Once you enroll, IDX will automatically continue your subscription using the saved payment method. Subscriptions can be canceled at any time by contacting customer support at 800-939-4170 or [email protected]. You will not be charged once you cancel. However, you will not receive any partial month refunds or credits. If you are enrolled in a free trial, you won’t be charged if you cancel before it ends.
How to Enroll in IDX Identity Protection
Enrollment in IDX is done online. After clicking on the enrollment option, you’ll be prompted to create an online account and verify your email address. After this, you can select a service and billing plan by providing a valid credit card.
To ensure IDX features work effectively, you will need to provide and verify sensitive personal data, like your Social Security number, birth date, address, and more. You can request a full copy of your data or request the data be deleted at any time.
IDX Reviews and Ratings
Users must be 18 or older to utilize IDX in the U.S. IDX claims that 95% of its members would recommend the service to others. However, online ratings suggest otherwise, with a Trustpilot rating of 2.2 stars out of 5 and a Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating of 2.18 stars out of 5.
Its mobile apps also receive mixed reviews. The Android app has a rating of 4.0 stars versus just 2.2 stars from the iOS app. Customers have reported problems logging in, receiving identity alerts, and fixing identity breaches. IDX’s reviews and ratings have recently dropped due to customer dissatisfaction after IDX’s recommendation by UnitedHealth Group as a credit monitoring service following a recent data breach at Change Healthcare. Customers reported struggling to input their personal data and set up the service. They also reported receiving alerts about suspicious activity on their accounts.
IDX has been BBB-accredited since 2004 and holds an A+ rating.
IDX Alternatives
IDX has many key features that are sought after when rating identity theft protection services, including devoted fraud resolution and recovery experts, who can manage your case, and insurance coverage to lessen the costs of restoring your identity. IDX Identity also offers essential dark web and court record monitoring. However, the lower-tier plan provides credit monitoring from a single credit bureau, whereas a number of competing services include credit monitoring from all three major credit bureaus.
One standout feature of IDX is its refund guarantee, which refunds up to a year of fees if the service fails to remove everything harmful posted to your record because of an identity theft event (provided you follow the recommended processes). IDX is also credited for stating in its privacy policy that the company does not sell customer data to third parties—data may be shared with partners to satisfy service or legal requirements (like providing information to credit bureaus for credit monitoring).
Ultimately, the price of IDX Complete is about the same as most of the leading identity theft protection services. However, each service offers its own set of specific tools and features, which means a price-based comparison doesn’t tell the whole story. Let’s compare IDX to some of the best identity theft protection services.
IDX vs. Norton 360 with LifeLock
Norton 360 with LifeLock combines identity theft and cybersecurity services from Norton. It offers three levels of protection: Select, Advantage, and Ultimate Plus. When operating at its peak performance, Norton 360 with LifeLock outmuscles IDX Complete. Both offer similar identity and credit monitoring services, but Norton 360 with LifeLock has stronger cybersecurity features such as anti-malware and antivirus protection.
On paper, Norton 360 with LifeLock and IDX have similar prices. However, Norton offers greater annual discounts, from 14% to 44% off the monthly price, depending on the plan.
IDX vs. Aura
Aura All-In-One is considered one of the best identity theft protection services currently available, including all its features under a single plan that costs $15 monthly for individuals. With a full range of monitoring and protection services, family plans, and annual discounts, Aura sets the bar for service.
Unfortunately, IDX falls short of the standard set by Aura. Despite costing more than twice as much as Aura, IDX Complete lacks key cybersecurity features such as antivirus software and a digital vault for storing sensitive documents.
IDX vs. PrivacyGuard
PrivacyGuard’s three plans are structured similarly to IDX: with two distinct plans that combine into one large plan. PrivacyGuard has PrivacyGuard Identity Protection, PrivacyGuard Credit Protection, and PrivacyGuard Total Protection.
PrivacyGuard offers wider monitoring options with its identity and credit protection plans. It provides monthly credit reports in contrast to IDX’s annual reports. PrivacyGuard also provides a credit score simulator and financial calculators so that customers can see how specific decisions will impact their finances and credit scores. Tri-bureau protection comes with PrivacyGuard’s credit protection plan, whereas IDX reserves tri-bureau monitoring to its Complete plan.
PrivacyGuard Total Protection is actually cheaper than IDX Complete, even after IDX’s annual discount. However, PrivacyGuard does not offer a family plan.
IDX FAQs
- What is IDX Identity?
- IDX Identity provides identity theft protection with monitoring, fraud restoration, and alerts.
- How does IDX Identity protect against identity theft?
- IDX Identity employs advanced monitoring tools, alerts, and fraud restoration services to protect you against identity theft, fraud, and scams.
- What is IDX CyberScan?
- IDX CyberScan is a tool that continually searches the internet (including the dark web) to check whether any of your personal information has been exposed. Fast detection and action of compromised information reduces the possibility of it being used for harmful purposes.
- Can I cancel my IDX Identity subscription anytime?
- Yes, you can cancel your subscription at any time without penalty by contacting customer support at 800-939-4170 or [email protected].
- Is IDX a legitimate identity-protection company?
- Yes, IDX is a legitimate identity-protection company. It has been BBB-accredited since 2004 and has an A+ rating.
