The Best Identity Theft Protection Software for 2024
Identity theft can lead to serious financial and personal difficulties, potentially draining bank accounts and damaging your credit score. Identifying and protecting against these types of attacks requires a proactive approach. Here’s a look at the best services to safeguard your identity, along with insights to guide your choice.
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Imagine tapping your card for an ATM withdrawal only to receive an error message: no funds available. You try logging into your bank’s app, but it rejects your credentials. You attempt to reset your password via email but are locked out of your email account. Your identity has been stolen. The thieves now control your email, your bank account, and the money within it. Whether the breach came from a data leak or a weak password, you’re in trouble. This scenario highlights the potential disruption and financial harm of identity theft. If this is concerning, an identity theft service may be a good option for you.
Because it’s impossible to do real-world testing of identity theft remediation, this review focuses on services that offer device-level security protection too. Norton 360 With LifeLock and Bitdefender Ultimate Security are favored choices. Both combine excellent device-level security with comprehensive handling of identity theft concerns.
Is It Worth Paying for Identity Theft Protection?
Security software isn’t always needed if you can guarantee avoiding viruses or malware. Likewise, if you can guarantee that no one will steal your identity, then you won’t need identity theft protection. However, these guarantees are unrealistic. The real question is, what level of risk are you comfortable with?
Identity theft protection services are like insurance. You pay for a service annually and hope to never need it. When you combine such protections with security software for your devices, the financial picture looks more beneficial.
For example, LifeLock offers several different monitoring tiers that, when paired with their levels of family protection, add only a small amount to the price when paired with Norton 360. This offers customers a great value.
Bitdefender Identity Theft Protection Standard costs $129.99 annually. Adding another $50 grants access to Bitdefender Total Security, along with Bitdefender’s VPN and password manager. If you want something tangible for your money, choosing identity protection bundled with device security is a smart choice.
What Are the Best Identity Theft Protection Apps for Families?
Protecting your own identity is important, but if your spouse or partner’s identity is stolen, it impacts you. Identity protection services address family protection in various ways.
Bitdefender’s services are currently individual; however, family plans are in the works.
McAfee+ originally only protected individuals. But in 2023, the company added a family option, with full protection for two adults and limited credit monitoring for four children. Adding family protection raises the subscription cost by approximately $80 at the Advanced level, while the Ultimate tier is almost double the price.
Norton 360 With LifeLock and IDX Complete both provide family plans covering you, your partner, and up to five children. Norton also offers a partner-only plan. Both plans have comparable pricing overall. Norton’s pricing level increases drastically at the highest tier. If you opt for the partner plan, plus the children’s comprehensive plan at its top Ultimate Plus level, you’ll pay $819.99 annually.
IDShield provides comprehensive family protection. The family license costs twice as much as an individual license, but it includes identity protection for you, your partner, and all your minor children.
Avast One Platinum operates with the same third-party partner as Bitdefender. However, while a Bitdefender subscription protects only the individual, Avast lets you add up to five family members. Each member gets a personal dashboard for tracking their credit and personal data. With 30 licenses to install the security suite component, your family can protect all their devices.
The same third-party partner that backs Bitdefender and Avast also provides identity protection for ESET Home Security Ultimate. ESET’s protection aligns with what you get at Bitdefender’s entry-level tier. Like Avast, it protects family members and not just individuals, and its price is less than two-thirds that of Avast. ESET promises to continue its efforts even after a covered family member passes away.
The Best Overall Identity Monitoring Services
All reliable identity theft protection services monitor the dark web, which is a standard feature. They all offer systems to help you deal with wallet theft or loss and provide expert support available 24/7 to work with you throughout the identity theft recovery process. And, they often back their remediation promises with at least $1 million in insurance.
Most services partner with a credit bureau to offer credit monitoring, a monthly credit score, and a simple method for freezing your credit. Some offer coverage to all three bureaus at an extra cost, while others offer credit score analysis, showing positive and negative factors. The Credit Simulator in Bitdefender Ultimate Security, ESET Home Security Ultimate, and Avast One Platinum helps customers see how their credit score may change if they pay off a credit card or declare bankruptcy.
All the services, except ESET, alert you regarding unauthorized change-of-address. A few go further by monitoring illicit changes to your home title. Many will provide warnings if someone tries to open a new account in your name. Others keep an eye on your bank and credit accounts and flag any anomalous transactions.
Carefully read the details when choosing an identity theft protection service. Some features may require a specific, more expensive service tier. For example, change-of-address warnings and anomalous transaction alerts require Bitdefender’s Plus level. Home title monitoring and tracking of retirement accounts only kick in at Norton’s Ultimate Plus level.
How Does Identity Theft Insurance Work?
Every identity theft remediation service mentioned backs their programs with an insurance policy of at least $1 million. Before committing to a service, read the fine print.
Some services reimburse you for funds directly stolen during an identity theft attack. McAfee used to cap the reimbursement at $10,000 but now pledges up to a million if needed. With Norton, the cap depends on your service tier: $25,000 at the Select level, $100,000 at the Advantage level, and a full $1 million at Ultimate Plus. Bitdefender specifically offers up to $50,000 for ransomware recovery.
You can also anticipate reimbursement caps for certain losses due to identity theft. For example, if you lose your job due to identity theft, insurance may provide lost-wage coverage, but not for long, maybe $1,500 per week for eight weeks or $2,000 per week for five weeks. Caps also cover travel, childcare, elder care, and notary fees.
Note that Norton does not impose such caps or sub-limits. At its top tier, it promises $1 million each for remediation, reimbursement of stolen funds, and compensation for personal expenses, totaling $3 million.
Identity theft insurance does not typically cover money lost due to your own negligence. If you willingly share your bank details with someone, it typically won’t be covered by this insurance. You’re also likely to find requirements that you promptly notify the service, file any appropriate police reports, and provide the experts with necessary documents.
So, where does the insurance money go if it’s not directly to you? These funds pay lawyers, investigators, and other experts who help get your life back on track following an identity theft event.
Who Has the Best Identity Theft Protection?
Most everyone now understands the protection of a security suite (or at least an antivirus) for their devices is a necessity. That’s a simple decision. You can check out some reviews, get the product of your choice, install it, and move on. Buying into an identity theft protection plan demands more of your time and effort. You input the necessary personal information you wish to protect, the bank accounts to monitor, and more. You then hope the service won’t cause problems with your data. Norton and LifeLock are proven and trusted brands. Norton 360 With LifeLock offers device protection and identity protection. Bitdefender Ultimate Security combines a great security suite with strong identity protection. These two are designated as the Editors’ Choice selections for identity theft services.
