Identity theft protection services are your first line of digital defense, alerting you to irregularities in your credit reports and more. The best apps alert include three-bureau credit monitoring, password managers, dark web scanning and parental controls.
CNBC Select reviewed more than 20 identity theft protection services to pick the best in a variety of categories. For more on how we made our picks, see our methodology.
Best identity theft protection services
Best for families: Aura
Who's this for? Aura's family plan includes five adults and an unlimited number of children under age 18, with benefits like alert sharing, parental controls and cyberbullying alerts for video games.
Standout benefits: Aura's white-glove fraud resolution team expertly helps resolve issues with identity theft or fraud. Aura also generates email aliases to hide your information and monitors all three credit bureaus.
Aura
Cost
Kids: $13 per month or $10 per month billed annually; Individual: $15 per month or $12 per month billed annually; Couple: $29 per month or $22 per month billed annually; Family: $50 per month or $32 per month billed annually
Standout features
Protects against identity theft, fraud, spam calls and websites, viruses and malware. Offers three credit bureau monitoring, VPN, dark web monitoring, password manager, email aliases and instant credit lock.
Identity theft insurance
All plans include at least $1 million and white-glove fraud remediation
Terms apply.
Pros
- 14-day free trial
- Family plan includes up to 5 adults and an unlimited number of kids
- Discount if you buy an annual plan
- Up to $1 million to cover losses or expenses related to identity theft
Cons
- Doesn't monitor social media accounts
- Annual plans can only be canceled in the first 60 days for a money-back guarantee
Best for dark web scanning: IdentityForce
Who's this for? With IdentityForce, all plans get dark web scanning and at least $1 million in identity theft insurance coverage.
Standout benefits: IdentityForce's upper-tier UltraSecure+Credit plan offers bureau credit monitoring, daily TransUnion credit reports, real-time fraud alerts and up to $2 million in identity theft insurance
IdentityForce®
Cost
UltraSecure Individual: $19.90 per month or $199.90 per year; UltraSecure+Credit Individual: $34.90 per month or $349.90 per year; UltraSecure Family: $24.90 per month or $249.90 per year; UltraSecure+Credit Family: $39.90 per month or $399.90 per year
Credit bureaus monitored
3-bureau credit monitoring, alerts and reports: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion®, with UltraSecure+Credit Individual and UltraSecure+Credit Family plans only
Credit scoring model used
VantageScore® 3.0, with UltraSecure+Credit Individual and UltraSecure+Credit Family plans only
Dark web scan
Yes, with all plans
Identity theft insurance
Yes, at least $1 million with all plans
Terms apply.
Pros
- 3-bureau credit monitoring, alerts and reports
- Free VantageScore® 3.0
- Dark web scanning
- Minimum $1 million identity theft insurance coverage
- Offers family plan
Cons
- Plans start at about $20 per month
- Doesn't look at FICO® Score
- Credit monitoring, alerts and reports perks require UltraSecure+Credit plan
Best credit and identity protection combo: PrivacyGuard
Who's this for? PrivacyGuard offers separate plans for identity and credit protection, or you can combine them with the Total Protection plan, which includes free VantageScore reports, three-bureau credit monitoring, dark web scanning, public records and bank account monitoring and $1 million in identity theft insurance.
Standout benefits: PrivacyGuard offers unique features like a dedicated identity fraud resolution agent, a financial calculator suite, neighborhood reports, emergency travel assistance and medical records reimbursement.
PrivacyGuard®
Cost
$9.99 to $24.99 per month
Identity theft insurance
Up to $1 million for Identity Protection and Total Protection plans; none for Credit Protection plan
Credit monitoring
Total Protection and Credit Protection plans both monitor your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit reports; Identity Protection doesn't offer credit monitoring.
Mobile app
Yes
Family plan
No
Terms apply.
Pros
- All plans include a Dedicated ID Fraud Resolution Agent
- 24/7 triple-bureau daily credit monitoring
- All plans include $1 million in ID theft insurance
- New users can try any plan for $1 for the first 14 days
Cons
- No family plan
- No identity theft insurance with Credit Protection plan
- Identity Protection plan doesn't offer triple-bureau credit monitoring
Best for credit monitoring: Experian IdentityWorks
Who's this for? All Experian IdentityWorks users receive updates to their FICO® Score 8, the number most lenders use.
Standout benefits: Experian IdentityWorks has a free version and offers a free trial for paid plans. All plans include three-bureau credit monitoring, dark web scanning and up to $1 million identity theft insurance coverage.
Experian IdentityWorks℠
Cost
Basic: Free; Premium: $24.99 per month, Family: $34.99 per month (7-day free trial with paid plans)
Credit bureaus monitored
Basic plan monitors Experian and FICO score and scans dark web. Premium plan comes with three-bureau (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) credit monitoring and alerts and social media reports. Family plan adds two adults and up to 10 children.
Credit scoring model used
FICO® Score 8 with all plans
Dark web scan
With all plans
Identity theft insurance
Up to $1 million with paid plans
Terms apply.
Pros
- Free version available and free trial with paid plans
- 3-bureau credit monitoring, alerts and reports
- Free FICO® Score 8
- Dark web scanning
- Up to $1 million identity theft insurance coverage
Cons
- Advanced features cost extra
- Free version is very basic
*Identity Theft Insurance underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. (AIG). The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions.
Best for identity theft insurance: Identity Guard
Who's this for? Identity Guard plans include $1 million in identity theft insurance.
Standout benefits: Identity Guard offers data breach notifications and monitoring of high-risk transactions, bank accounts, social media and more. Certain plans also get three-bureau credit monitoring and monthly credit scores.
Identity Guard
Cost
From $7.50 to $25.00 per month, billed annually on individual plans and $12.50 to $33.33 per month, billed annually on family plans
Identity theft insurance
Up to $1 million in insurance for eligible losses from identity theft
Credit monitoring
The Total and Ultra plans monitor your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit reports; the Value plan doesn't offer credit monitoring.
Mobile app
Yes
Family plan
Yes
Terms apply.
Pros
- Option to choose from three plans: Value, Total and Ultra
- All plans provide identity theft insurance up to $1 million
- Variety of privacy tools that help reduce telemarketing calls, junk mail and more (free with annual plans)
Cons
- No credit monitoring with Value plan
Best for protecting devices: LifeLock
Who's this for? LifeLock offers protection across various devices, including PCs, Macs, tablets and phones.
Standout benefits: LifeLock offers phone takeover monitoring, buy now pay later alerts, 401(k) and investment account activity alerts, social media monitoring and more.
LifeLock™
Cost
Core: $10.42/month paid annually or $12.49/month; Advanced: $16.67/month paid annually or $19.99/month; Total: $29.17/month paid annually or $34.99/month
Identity theft insurance
Up to $1 million for lawyers and experts; up to $25,000 to $1 million each for stolen funds reimbursement and personal expense compensation
Credit monitoring
The Advanced and Total plans monitor your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit reports; the Core plan monitors Equifax and TransUnion.
Mobile app
Yes
Family plan
Yes
Terms apply.
Pros
- Choose between multiple individual and family plans
- All plans provide identity theft insurance
- Norton 360 software is integrated into some plans, offering protection against viruses, spyware, malware and other online threats for up to 5 PCs, Macs and Android devices
Cons
- You receive less identity theft insurance coverage with the core plan
- Core and Advanced plans lack some alerts, like bank account takeover alerts and 401K/investment account alerts
- Core plan only monitors one credit bureau monthly
How do identity theft protection services work?
Identity theft protection services monitor websites and databases for your Social Security number, driver's license, bank account digits and other personal information. If one appears on the dark web or elsewhere, you'll receive an alert.
Different services have unique assets, but most will include:
- Social media
- USPS address change requests
- Court or arrest records
- The dark web
- Orders for new utility, cable, or wireless services
- Payday loan applications
- Check cashing requests
If your identity is compromised, most companies have ID experts, attorneys and others to help restore and rehabilitate it. All of our picks for the best identity theft protection provide optional insurance, one of the best perks of an identity theft protection service.
Keep in mind that identity theft protection services can only alert you to breaches as they happen, not prevent any fraud.
Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.
Plans from $10 to $32 per month, billed annually
Protects against identity theft, fraud, spam calls and websites, viruses and malware. Offers three-credit-bureau monitoring, VPN, dark web monitoring, password manager, email aliases and instant credit lock.
On Aura's site
From $7.50 to $25.00 per month, billed annually on individual plans and $12.50 to $33.33 per month, billed annually on family plans
Up to $1 million in insurance for eligible losses from identity theft
On Identity Guard's site
The dark web is a portion of the internet that does not appear on search engines like Google and requires specialized software, like the Tor browser, to access. It offers privacy and there are legitimate uses for this corner of the deep web, but that same anonymity attracts bad actors and scam artists.
What do identity theft protection services include?
Most identity theft services track your credit reports and internet presence, alerting you to potential fraud. Here are some of the more common offerings:
Credit monitoring: All of the programs on our list monitor Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, the three major credit bureaus, for changes to your credit score, new account openings and other suspicious activity
Internet monitoring: Depending on the service, you can elect to have social media and the more nefarious dark web scanned. Some services monitor your online activity, including social media, public records, and dark web forums, for any signs of your personal information being compromised.
Fraud alerts: The best ID theft protection companies don't wait for you to check your account — they send text or email alerts to potential threats
VPN: Some services, like NordProtect and Aura, bundle VPN features, enabling you to encrypt your connection, hide your IP address and ensure public wi-fi is still safe.
Password protection: Generate strong, unique passwords, keep use password managers, and enable multi-factor authentication.
Identity restoration: If your identity is compromised, all the companies we named have teams dedicated to restoring your identity with the credit bureaus, any financial institutions and even legal authorities.
Insurance: Beyond legal fees, bank charges and lost savings, the plans we selected also reimburse for lost wages and transportation required while you resolve the issue.
Parental controls: Some apps allow parents to monitor screen time and social media accounts and have enhanced tools that scan for online predators, cyberbullying and inappropriate content. You can also get alerts if your child's Social Security number or other personal data is being used or appears on the dark web.
How to protect your identity
Beyond reaching out to an ID theft protection provider, there are other steps you can take to safeguard your information:
1. Monitor your credit: Most of us have free access to our credit reports and should routinely review our credit scores, credit card accounts and other files for unexpected transactions, requests for increases or other irregularities. Be sure to dispute errors immediately.
2. Secure your passwords: If you're someone who uses the same password for all your accounts, consider enrolling in an app like LastPass or 1Password, which can generate a unique login.
3. Be wary of unsolicited emails and phone calls: If you don't know the company or sender, that's a red flag — especially if they're calling out of the blue. Check the URL and make sure it starts with "https" — with the "s" indicating "secure."
4. Freeze your credit reports: If you're suspicious that you've been compromised, freeze your credit reports with each of the three credit bureaus. It's a free service.
Identity theft protection FAQs
What's the difference between Identity theft protection and credit monitoring services?
Identity theft protection services alert you when your personal information is being used in a wide range of fraudulent activities. Credit monitoring services track your credit history and report any notable changes, which might be from your own financial decisions. Many services offer both features — identity theft protection and credit monitoring — to provide holistic coverage.
Can identity theft protection services prevent fraud?
An identity theft protection service won't prevent fraud, but it can help you spot it early. While someone stealing your identity is never ideal, it's even worse if you don't realize it right away. Thankfully, these services can help you notice it quickly and take action before the damage gets worse.
What can't identity theft protection do?
While it can help restore your good name, even the best ID theft prevention program can't prevent your personal information from appearing on the dark web or make it invulnerable to data breaches. Perhaps, more importantly, it can't perfectly shield you from someone trying to access your credit, bank accounts, tax records or personal information. But the right program can minimize your exposure and quickly work to restore your standing.
Are identity theft protection services worth it?
Despite their name, identity theft protection services are more about post-exposure than prevention. If you get a fraud alert, for example, that means someone is already trying to use your data. That said, many of the features these programs offer can be extremely helpful — including password protectors, identity theft insurance and alerts about sudden changes to your credit score.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed financial decisions. Every identity theft protection review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit monitoring products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best identity theft protection services.
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Our methodology
CNBC Select analyzed more than a dozen identity theft protection services to find the best ones. We focused on the following features:
Cost: We gave extra weight to services that had lower base rates or discounts for paying annually.
Variety of services: The more platforms the service checks for breaches to your personal information, the better it scored.
Credit monitoring: We ranked services higher if they monitor your credit reports, especially all three credit bureaus
Family plans: More weight was given to services that had options for families, including shared alerts, parental controls and cyberbullying alerts for video games and social media.
Identity theft insurance: We considered whether companies reimbursed costs associated with restoring your identity, including legal fees and lost wages. Services offering $1 million for eligible expenses were given more weight.
We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.
Based on that criteria, our picks for the best identity theft protection services are:
Best for families: Aura
Best for dark web scanning: IdentityForce®
Best for combining credit and identity protection: PrivacyGuard®
Best for credit monitoring: Experian IdentityWorks℠
Best for identity theft insurance: Identity Guard
Best for device protection: LifeLock™
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