Choosing a company to protect you against identity theft can be confusing. Do you really need their services, which can cost up to $30 a month?
Yes, you do, but only if the monitoring is effective. Identity theft affects upward of 18 million people a year, not including data breaches that make millions of others vulnerable.
I've had three monitoring services, at one point paying for two of them, all in an attempt to find out which one would be the most aggressive in alerting me when someone tried to steal my identity, buy an Aston Martin with my Social Security number or take a trip to Ulaanbaatar on my credit card.
The bottom line? Two of them performed as advertised. The third went into hibernation and, more than two months later, hasn't come back. And that plane ticket to Ulaanbaatar? It was discovered by my credit card's excellent fraud-detection service before the transaction was approved. The cost for that service is zero. My bank alerts me of large transactions _ I set the limit.
No monitoring service can spot all unauthorized credit card transactions. Their forte is detecting fraudulent applications for credit cards, car loans and other unusual uses of a person's Social Security number.
Complete ID is a typical identity theft monitor. It's offered through Costco for prices starting at $9, which compares favorably to other providers' $30 packages. For the affordable monthly fee ($20 for if you're not a Costco member), you get annual credit reports from all three credit bureaus, monthly credit score updates, internet surveillance, Social Security number monitoring, payday loan monitoring, financial account application monitoring, and checking and savings account activity alerts. The service will monitor criminal records and offers lost wallet replacement assistance. Complete ID pledges that it will restore your stolen identity to what it should be and offers $1 million insurance against identity theft and stolen funds. It offers 24/7 support, which, in my test, is quite good.
A typical $30 service from other companies will, like Complete ID, also curb credit card offers, which in the wrong hands make it easy for a troublemaker to rack up charges against you. Child fraud _ a growing problem _ is offered for a few dollars more. I received timely alerts from Complete ID about possible fraud, and the service alerted me to new loans that I had taken out.
Then there's the widely advertised LifeLock. I signed up for LifeLock several months ago and haven't heard a word from them since. While Complete ID at least sent me monthly reports that detailed credit card inquiries and new loans taken out in my name, LifeLock has remained silent all this time. There are three levels, and I finally figured out why I haven't heard from the company: Its $10 basic level, while not worthless, is at best not worthwhile. You get what you pay for.
The basic level offers $25,000 in stolen funds reimbursement, Social Security number and credit alerts, lost wallet protection and credit monitoring of one bureau. The $20 plan offers $100,000 in stolen funds reimbursement, bank and credit card activity alerts, and alerts on crimes fraudulently committed in your name. The $30 plan offers up to $1 million in reimbursements for stolen funds and resolution help. Both the $20 and $30 plans offer data-breach notifications. Sad to say, I have the basic plan, and if LifeLock's silence is a good thing, I'd still like to know that everything's honky-dory.
The third service, ProtectMyID, is offered through the Auto Club of Southern California. The free service monitors credit reports for Experian only and offers only $10,000 for identity theft insurance. The free plan offers email alerts and fraud-resolution support. The deluxe option, at $8.95 a month, is a bargain. It offers daily internet monitoring for possible identity theft, notice if someone has changed your address and $1 million in identity theft insurance. That feature, like the ones offered by all three services, includes such things as reimbursement for straightening out theft, lost wages and legal fees. For nonmembers of the Auto Club, the price is $16 a month.
So here's my take:
The basic LifeLock plan for $10 a month doesn't offer much; you have to spend $20 or $30 a month for meaningful monitoring. Complete ID's $9 plan compares favorably to $30 plans. Close in this horse race against hackers is ProtectMyID. For $9 a month (for Auto Club members) you get a lot of features.
You have to decide whether it's worth the price of knowing that you'll at least be alerted if someone tries to buy that Aston Martin in your name or make a flight reservation to Ulaanbaatar on your dime.
