Product Overview of Identity Guard
Identity Guard is a comprehensive identity protection service designed to safeguard individuals against various forms of identity theft and fraud. Here’s a detailed look at what the product does and its key features.
What Identity Guard Does
Identity Guard is engineered to monitor and protect your personal and financial information from being misused by fraudsters. It offers a robust suite of services that include continuous monitoring of your identity, financial accounts, and credit reports, as well as proactive measures to prevent and mitigate identity theft.
Key Features and Functionality
Identity Monitoring
Identity Guard provides extensive identity monitoring across multiple platforms:
- Dark Web Monitoring: Scans the dark web for mentions of your personal information, such as your Social Security number, credit card numbers, and passwords, and alerts you if any compromised data is found.
- Social Media Monitoring: Monitors your social media accounts for any suspicious activity or attempts to impersonate you.
- USPS Address Change Monitoring: Alerts you if a change of address form is filed in your name, helping prevent mail forwarding scams.
- Criminal and Sex Offense Monitoring: Notifies you if your name appears on a sex offender registry or police report.
Credit Monitoring
Identity Guard offers comprehensive credit monitoring services, particularly in its higher-tier plans:
- Three-Bureau Credit Monitoring: Continuously monitors all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) for unauthorized changes or inquiries.
- Monthly Credit Reports and Scores: Provides monthly credit reports and credit score tracking to help you stay on top of your credit health.
- Credit Lock Feature: Automatically limits access to your Experian credit to help thwart identity theft.
Financial Account Monitoring
- Bank Account Monitoring: Monitors your bank accounts for suspicious transactions and alerts you to potential fraud.
- Credit and Debit Card Monitoring: Tracks your credit and debit card transactions to ensure no one else is using your cards fraudulently.
- 401k and Investment Account Monitoring: Alerts you to any suspicious activity in your investment accounts.
Fraud Alerts and Protection
- Fraud Alerts: Places fraud alerts on your credit file to make it harder for fraudsters to open new accounts in your name.
- ID Verification Alerts: Notifies you of any changes to your account information, such as bank passwords or address changes, to confirm the activity is valid.
- Account Takeover Alerts: Protects your financial accounts from takeover by identity thieves with real-time alerts.
Identity Theft Insurance and Restoration
- Identity Theft Insurance: Offers up to $1 million in identity theft insurance to cover expenses related to identity theft, such as legal fees and lost wages.
- Identity Restoration Services: Provides access to highly trained experts who assist in restoring your identity if you become a victim of identity theft.
Additional Features
- Password Manager: Includes a password manager to securely store and manage your passwords.
- Safe Browsing Tool: Offers a safe browsing tool to enhance your online security.
- Lost Wallet Protection: Helps cancel credit card accounts and provides emergency cash if your wallet is lost or stolen.
Plan Options
Identity Guard offers three plan tiers:
- Value Plan: Includes data breach notifications, dark web monitoring, and high-risk transaction monitoring, but no credit features.
- Total Plan: Adds credit features like three-bureau credit monitoring and monthly credit scores, along with bank account monitoring.
- Ultra Plan: Includes all features from the lower tiers plus additional monitoring options like social media, credit and debit cards, home titles, and white glove fraud resolution.
In summary, Identity Guard is a robust identity protection service that offers a wide range of features to safeguard your personal and financial information, making it a strong choice for those seeking comprehensive identity security.