The recent cyberattacks on UK retailers have shown how no one is 100% safe from hackers and highlighted the pressing need for effective cybersecurity protections.
Tools like the best VPNs are great at protecting your online privacy, but they aren't always the most useful tools when dealing with a data breach.
M&S, Harrods, and the Co-op have all suffered data breaches, with the Co-op admitting a "significant number" of customers have had their data accessed. However, the retailer has said this doesn't include financial information or passwords.
Data breaches can be scary – especially when they aren't your fault – and, understandably, you may be worried about potential repercussions.
Immediate responses should be to change your passwords and secure your accounts. Use one of the best password managers to generate unique and complex passwords.
You should also be on the lookout for scam or phishing attempts. These can take the form of suspicious text messages or emails, fake shops, or even romance scams.
But don't panic, there are tools available to help protect against data breaches, ID theft, and scams. ID theft protection services are available – and some of our top-rated VPN providers come bundled with them.
Surfshark's Alternative ID
We rate Surfshark as the best cheap VPN, with plans starting at $1.99 per month, and it's also the fastest VPN we've tested.
Surfshark has an effective antivirus, but the Alternative ID feature is what we'll be highlighting here.
Alt ID allows you to generate a fake online persona, protecting your true identity as a result. You can generate a name, age, gender, address, and email – perfect for signing up to newsletters, websites, or anything else you'd rather not share your information with.
Alt ID is free with all Surfshark VPN plans and you can delete and create a persona as many times as you like.
While there's nothing stopping you from signing up to membership cards or buying items online, you might want to check the terms of service of the company you're signing up with – just to double check you aren't breaking any rules by using Alt ID.
What you can't generate is bank details. So if you're required to enter this information, it has to be your genuine details and they won't match your generated ID.
Only Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, and the U.S. can be used as your Alt ID location, which may be a problem when signing up for services outside these regions like the UK.
Despite a few drawbacks, Alt ID is still an excellent free tool for hiding your personal details online, protecting yourself from hackers, and reducing spam. If this data is breached or compromised, you won't be harmed and you can simply delete the alias and create a new one.
Surfshark also offers Alternative Number. This allows you to generate a dummy phone number, linked to your Alt ID, that can receive calls and text messages. Alt Number is a paid add-on for all Surfshark plans.
NordVPN's NordProtect
NordVPN offers a complete cybersecurity package in the form of NordProtect. This collection of ID protection features is only available for U.S. subscribers and is included in the NordVPN Prime plan or can be purchased as a standalone product.
There's identity theft insurance of up to $1 million, and $100,000 in cyber extortion insurance, plus a dedicated ID theft case manager. Alongside this, the dark web will be monitored for appearances of your personal details and there's credit assistance.
At $6.99 per month ($188.73 plus tax up front), NordVPN Prime is NordVPN's most expensive offering, but if you're happy to spend the money it's worth it.
This level of protection is not available to users outside the U.S., but NordVPN has just introduced ID theft recovery protection to its NordVPN Ultimate plan for those in the UK.
Up to £5,000 is available to reimburse any losses incurred, as well as scam protection but not much else. For the price (£5.09 per month) it falls a little short, especially when compared to the U.S. offering. But if you're happy to pay, it's better than nothing.
Although it doesn't directly protect against ID theft, NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro is the best VPN malware protection out there and is very effective at identifying scam or phishing links that may arise from a data breach. Threat Protection Pro, as well as the NordPass password manager, is included in all NordVPN plans except NordVPN Basic.
ExpressVPN's Identity Defender
ExpressVPN also includes a form of identity theft protection, Identity Defender. It's similar to NordProtect and only available to U.S. ExpressVPN subscribers. Up to $1 million of cyber insurance is on offer and Credit Scanner helps protect your credit score.
ID Alerts monitors the web for your data and the data removal service requests the deletion of this data from data brokers.
Identity Defender is included in the 2-year ExpressVPN plan for American subscribers only and, working out at $4.99 per month ($139.72 up front), it's cheaper than NordVPN Prime. But unfortunately, this is of no help to those in the UK looking to protect their data.
