Identity theft is an issue that affects millions of Americans every year. It can happen to anyone, from the most security-conscious to those who aren’t as worried about protecting their online accounts and personal information. The costs of identity theft can lead to financial problems, credit problems, and a range of other issues. To prevent these things from happening, it’s important for us to protect our identities. This article will cover the costs of identity theft protection.
Identity Theft Protection
A lot of companies offer identity theft protection. In some cases, these plans are included as part of a cell phone plan or new service contract. However, a lot of people opt to purchase identity theft protection insurance on their own.
One thing to note is that the cost of identity theft protection varies widely depending on what type and how much coverage you want. Some plans will cover only certain types of identities, while others may cover everything but your personal information. If you have a business, you would need separate identity theft protection for your business account and your personal accounts. It’s also important to note that many people may get confused about this and end up purchasing services they don’t actually need and not realize it until later.
Costs of Identity Theft Protection
The cost of identity theft protection can be anywhere from $10-$300+ per month depending on the plan you choose and the amount of coverage you want.
Some services are free, while others cost hundreds of dollars each year. The most common types of identity theft protection services include credit bureaus, data-breach insurance, bank account monitoring, and identity restoration services.
The following are examples of some popular identity theft protection services along with their costs:
Aura
Price: Ranging between $12 – $468. Monthly and yearly plans available.
A modern identity theft service should be sleek, responsive, and user-friendly with a wide variety of monitoring types and alerts. Aura is one such example, being completely customizable to your individual needs. This coupled with a suite of tools like malware protection, antivirus software, and a password manager makes it an excellent choice for those who are looking for something that will protect their privacy online without compromising the performance or utility they desire from their computer in important ways either.
LifeLock
Price: Ranging between $9.99 – $299.88. Monthly and annual plans available.
To protect you against identity theft, LifeLock offers three different plans: Standard, Advantage, and Ultimate Plus. Each plan includes Norton 360 software, which is designed to provide multiple layers of protection from existing emerging cyber threats. The benefit of the Norton 360 suite is that it allows for five devices or more to have access at once (such as a computer). Additional anti-virus and malware protection comes with all LifeLock plans. To help keep your personal information safe in the cloud backup area for only $5/month ($20 total), there’s nothing better than having full control over where your data lives! With an included password manager located within the program itself ($4/mo/$10 total). Keeping passwords secure has never been easier.
ReliaShield
Price: Ranging between $7.99 – $384.89. Monthly and annual plans available.
ReliaShield is an affordable, comprehensive insurance program with a variety of services and competitive pricing. With all plans come five types of monitoring, data breach updates, 24/7 customer service, and recovery along with wallet protection and free credit report reminders. The Elite plan offers advanced benefits like a monthly credit score tracker as well as notification services for the first year from enrollment in case you need emergency assistance or fraud prevention help.
Free Identity Theft Protection Services
Here are some free credit monitoring services you can check out:
- Credit Karma: Credit Karma is an online service that helps people keep track of their credit score, without paying any fees. It asks for your personal information like Social Security numbers and financial goals in order to provide you with a comprehensive report on your credit history. They also offer free 24/7 credit monitoring and suggest ways for you to increase your score if it’s low.
- Wallet Hub: Many personal finance tools are available. One such tool, WalletHub, helps you monitor your credit score and other accounts. They offer a more general view of all these things than online services like Mint or Quicken Deluxe that help with individual transactions on your credit and debit cards as well as monitoring all your financial accounts in one place. If you’re looking for something else to ease the burden of managing money then WalletHub is the spot for that.
- Credit Sesame: Credit Sesame is more like Credit Karma and WalletHub than it is to Mint or Quicken Deluxe when it comes to content. But, despite having some of their features, Credit Sesame falls short in terms of being a personal finance tool that tracks your income and expenses. They do however suggest loan and credit card options to fit your credit score needs.
Other Types Of Identity Theft Protection
Data-Breach Insurance
Data-breach insurance is the most expensive type of identity theft protection service, costing about $400 to $800 a year. It provides coverage for both your online and offline identities. If you pay for this type of service, you’ll typically receive a police report detailing what happened when your information was stolen in addition to possible reimbursement for any losses incurred by the incident.
Bank Monitoring
Bank account monitoring is another popular option among consumers as it costs around $50 to $200 per year depending on how many accounts are monitored. This includes credit cards, checking accounts, savings accounts, investment accounts, and more.
Identity Restoration
Identity restoration services have varying prices depending on the level of damage from the identity theft incident: from $250 to upwards of $5,000 or more for extensive damage that can result in unemployment or other financial troubles. This is perfect for people who are concerned about their personal information being compromised during a data breach.
Credit Monitoring
Credit monitoring is a key service that can help us protect ourselves against identity theft. It’s important to note, though, that credit monitoring may not be a full-proof solution. The company providing the service may use consumer reports to check your credit and work with other organizations on your behalf. This means that you won’t be able to see all of the information in real-time and it will take some time for them to get back to you if there’s an issue or any suspicious activity on your account. A common price range for this type of service is about $10-$25 per month. It’s important for us to choose a service that will provide us with the right amount of security but also has reasonable pricing.
Conclusion
Identity theft protection is a necessity for anyone who wants to protect their identity and personal information. However, there are many ways to get identity protection without paying too much. You can find a company that offers a discounted price and you can also find a company that offers free identity protection.