Let me tell you a story. About 15 years ago, my husband’s identity was stolen. Some crook used his name to swipe $12,000 from our bank account. It took us months of hard work to sort it all out. And believe it or not, we got off lightly. Identity theft can ruin your credit, tarnish your reputation, and even land you in jail. That’s where Aura’s Identity Guard service comes in. It’s like a bodyguard for your personal data, keeping an eye out for any security threats online.
So, what makes Identity Guard special? Well, it’s got a bunch of features that help it stand out from the crowd. For starters, it’s always on the lookout for threats to your online identity. It scans the internet and social media every day, and if it spots anything suspicious, it’ll let you know. If you opt for the Total or Ultra Plans, it’ll also keep an eye on your credit file for any dodgy activity, like someone trying to open an account in your name.
But it doesn’t stop there. Identity Guard also delves into the dark web, that shady part of the internet where hackers often sell personal info they’ve stolen. It searches for your name, Social Security number, and driver’s license number, and if it finds them, it’ll send you a warning.
One of the things that sets Identity Guard apart is the speed of its alerts. If it spots something suspicious, it’ll let you know right away. You can see all these warnings in your Identity Guard dashboard, which you can access on the web or through the mobile app. The dashboard also gives you a risk management score, which shows you how much danger your identity is in.
If you’ve already been a victim of identity theft, Identity Guard can help you limit the damage. It’ll assign you a dedicated case manager who’ll help you check your credit score, alert the credit bureaus, and even provide $1 million in identity theft insurance to cover your financial losses. If you lose your wallet, they’ll guide you through the process of canceling your credit and debit cards to prevent further theft.
Identity Guard also offers a safe browsing tool. It’s like a security guard for your online browsing, blocking ads, trackers, data mining, and phishing attacks.
Identity Guard has three different plans, each with its own price and set of features. The basic plan gives you access to several key features, like dark web monitoring. But if you want to unlock all the features, you’ll need to go for a higher-tier plan.
The Value Plan is the cheapest, costing $8.99 per month or $90 per year for individuals, and $14.99 per month or $150 per year for families. It gives you basic identity protection features, like data breach notifications, dark web monitoring, risk management reports and scores, alerts about high-risk transactions, identity theft insurance, safe browsing tools, and a U.S.-based customer care team.
The Total Plan is the mid-tier option, costing $19.99 per month or $200 per year for individuals, and $29.99 per month or $300 per year for families. It gives you everything in the Value Plan, plus bank account monitoring and three-bureau credit monitoring. You also get monthly access to your credit score from either Experian or TransUnion.
The Ultra Plan is the top-tier option, costing $29.99 per month or $300 per year for individuals, and $39.99 per month or $400 per year for families. It gives you everything in the Total Plan, plus additional monitoring of your credit and debit cards, your 401(k) and investment accounts, address change monitoring, home title monitoring, and checks for your name in criminal and sex offense records. It also checks your social media accounts and provides a social insights report to improve your online image. Plus, you get a personal concierge to help you deal with identity fraud, and yearly access to your credit report from all three credit bureaus.
Identity Guard has a lot going for it. It’s affordable, easy to use, and offers sophisticated threat monitoring and fast notifications. Plus, all users get $1 million in identity theft insurance coverage. But it’s not perfect. It only provides a copy of your credit report with the top-tier plan, and even then, you only get one report per year. Its encryption isn’t as strong as the industry standard, and its customer support isn’t always easy to reach. Plus, its mobile app isn’t very well-reviewed, and it doesn’t offer a free trial.
When compared to its competitors, like LifeLock, Identity Guard holds its own. It’s cheaper, offers dark web monitoring, and even Value Plan users get $1 million in identity theft insurance coverage. But LifeLock includes address change alerts with all plans and offers credit monitoring with all plans, while Identity Guard only offers these with higher-tier plans.
In conclusion, while you can take steps to protect yourself from identity theft, like creating strong passwords and using antivirus software, a service like Identity Guard can provide an extra layer of protection. It’s good at finding threats and alerting you promptly, and its prices are competitive. It has a few weaknesses, like its lack of 24/7 customer support and its unimpressive mobile app, but overall, it’s a solid choice for identity theft protection.
