Service Name / Rating:	Price:	Fraud Monitoring:	ID Theft Insurance/ Guarantee:	Reports Delivered:	Computer Security:	Bottom Line:
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free 30-day trial; $8.50/mo or $84.15/yr for individuals; $16.99/mo or $161.49/yr for families	Credit cards, public records, Social Security number, bank accounts, medical records	$1,000,000 warranty	One 3-bureau credit report each year	Anti-spyware protection	Best value, especially for families; exclusive 15% discount & free 30-day trial; to sign up over the phone, call 800-234-6611
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free 30-day trial; $14.99/mo (after exclusive, limited time discount)	3-bureau credit report, credit cards, public records, Social Security number, applications (cell phones, loans, etc), Internet security	$1,000,000 insurance	One 3-bureau report, all 3 scores and a public record report each quarter	ZoneAlarm Internet security suite; anti-keylogging software	Most complete ID theft protection service; full credit monitoring; free Internet security suite; free 30-day trial
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free 30-day trial; $9.00/mo or $99.00/yr	Applications (cell phones, loans, etc.), credit cards, Social Security number, driver's license, address change	$1,000,000 guarantee	One 3-bureau credit report each year	None	Strong overall value; 10% discount & free 30-day trial
Go to Site Read Full Review	30-day trial for $1; $9.95/mo	3-bureau credit report, credit cards, new financial accounts or applications, address changes, public records	$1,000,000	One Experian credit report	None	Good option for consumers that are most concerned with credit report monitoring; 30-day trial for $1: to sign up over the phone, call 866-958-6943
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free 30-day trial; $14.95/mo	3-bureau credit report, optional Equifax credit freeze, credit cards, Social Security numbers	$1,000,000 insurance	One 3-bureau credit report and unlimited Equifax credit reports	None	Excellent mixture of credit report data and identity theft protection tools; free 30-day trial
Service Name / Rating:	Price:	Fraud Monitoring:	ID Theft Insurance/ Guarantee:	Reports Delivered:	Computer Security:	Bottom Line:
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free 30-day trial; $19.95/mo	Social Security number, driver's license, vehicle registration, criminal and court records, utilities	100% guarantee; no deductibles or limits	None	None	Most straightforward recovery guarantee we have seen; free 30-day trial; to sign up over the phone, call 800-233-1845
Go to Site Read Full Review	Free 30-day trial; $14.95/mo	None	$1,000,000	3-bureau credit report and Equifax FICO score	None	Great combination of credit monitoring and ID theft detection; free 30-day trial
Go to Site Read Full Review	$9.95/mo for single bureau credit monitoring; $12.95/mo for 3-bureau credit monitoring	None	None	Experian credit report and independently calculated score	None	Does not prevent identity theft but assists in recovery
Go to Site Read Full Review	$4.99/mo	None	None	None	None	Cheapest ID theft detection available

TrustedID Review: Identity Theft ProtectionGo to Site | Back to Chart

[Editor's Note: TrustedID has created a toll free number that NextAdvisor.com readers can call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to speak to a TrustedID representative, ask questions, or sign up for their service. If you are interested in signing up, we recommend that you call them at 800-234-6611, and be sure to mention NextAdvisor.com to ensure that you receive our exclusive 15% discount.]

TrustedID is an outstanding identity theft protection service. Its features are second to none, and with NextAdvisor's exclusive 15% discount and free 30-day trial, it is the best overall value in identity theft protection. When you click through to TrustedID from NextAdvisor.com, you will receive the 15% discount automatically, with no promotional code required. This is the best price for TrustedID and isn't available anywhere else.

TrustedID's Internet black market monitoring service monitors your personal information such as Social Security number, credit cards and bank accounts for any suspicious activity. It begins working as soon as you sign up by taking the Social Security number you used in the sign-up process and monitoring its use immediately. Adding all your credit card and bank account numbers is quick and easy and you should do this right away. This service monitors the Internet's black market for the use of any of these account numbers and immediately alerts you if it finds any of your numbers are being bought or sold. Trusted ID also monitors the Internet and public records for any changes to or misuse of your name, address, or Social Security number. TrustedID is the only service we've found that also gives you medical record protection. The service will help you request your medical benefit history from all your providers so you can make sure no one else has been receiving benefits in your name. They then monitor your account for any suspicious usage on an ongoing basis. TrustedID recently introduced a new feature, the Identity Threat Score, which provides a gauge of your individual risk level based on an analysis of the various records and databases that TrustedID monitors. Your score will help TrustedID's protection specialists determine the necessary steps to proactively protect your identity.

TrustedID's $1,000,000 identity theft warranty starts the moment you sign up so you can be confident you'll have the peace of mind that comes with their warranty and restoration services should they ever be needed (more on that below). TrustedID also helps you send letters to opt out of junk mail in general and credit card and other lending offers in particular. Not only do these clog your mailbox and kill trees, but they are also a prime target for identity thieves to steal, gain your personal information and open a credit card account in your name. Your free credit reports are mailed to your house, and the address is verified through the credit bureaus before doing so. As part of your account, you are offered a service called CreditLock, which makes your credit report at all 3 bureaus unavailable to everyone without permission. While this is a good option for those who rarely use their credit, or those who are stationed overseas, it does cost $44.95 to lock your credit reports with all three bureaus and $39.95 to unlock them - every time! We typically only recommend using this feature if you know you have been the victim of an identity theft. In that situation, it is extremely valuable. Finally, TrustedID also includes free anti-spyware software with your membership. This is definitely a nice added feature. The software is branded with TrustedID's brand but is developed and maintained by Sana Security, a highly reputable and well-reviewed identity theft prevention software company.

TrustedID has a pricing structure that makes it a particularly good value for large families. The family plan is about twice as much as the individual plan, but you can add everyone in your household, so it makes sense for households of more than two people.

For those that want to take the additional step of setting fraud alerts on their credit files, Trusted ID has developed a simple interface that walks you through the process of setting your own fraud alerts online with Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus. Once your fraud alerts are set, Equifax will notify the other two credit bureaus, Experian and TransUnion, on your behalf and fraud alerts will be set on your credit files at those two bureaus as well. After you set your fraud alerts the first time they will need to be renewed every 90 days. Trusted ID sends an email notification that reminds you to reset your fraud alerts before they lapse. The downside to setting fraud alerts on your credit file is that it might delay a credit application process because your identity must be confirmed before an account is open (usually you will be called and must speak to a representative of the credit grantor), but for those that are very concerned about identity theft this is a small price to pay it will not hurt your credit or prevent you from getting credit.

TrustedID's ID theft service warranty covers you for up to $1,000,000 in costs to recover from identity theft. While this is a great benefit, direct monetary losses from identity theft are almost always much less, since you are not legally responsible for paying any fraudulent debt accumulated by a thief. The real cost of identity theft is the loss of ability to get credit for an extended period of time, the time and effort it takes to restore your good name, and many other adverse consequences that can even include mistaken incarceration. Thus, we think the most valuable part of the warranty is the identity theft restoration service that TrustedID gives you as part of the warranty. In the extremely unlikely event that your identity is stolen while you're a TrustedID member, they will pay for and perform all the tasks necessary to restore your identity, which can be extremely time-consuming, difficult and costly.

We've found TrustedID customer service representatives to be very helpful and easy to reach at any time of the day or week. TrustedID has done a nice job of improving their online account dashboard so you can now see all the different ways your being protected and whether your account is missing any information. Overall, TrustedID is a great identity theft protection solution and an comprehensive yet cost-effective option for those serious about preventing identity theft.

Identity Guard Total Protection Review: Identity Theft ProtectionGo to Site | Back to Chart

[Editor's Note: For a limited time, Identity Guard is offering an exclusive $3.00/mo discount to NextAdvisor.com visitors. There is no coupon code required to take advantage of this discount, so simply click on any Identity Guard link on NextAdvisor.com to take advantage of this limited time discount pricing.]

Identity Guard Total Protection is the most comprehensive identity theft protection service and really lives up to its Total Protection moniker. Total Protection has the most extensive fraud monitoring we've found and offers its whole service at a great price with NextAdvisor's exclusive offer, just $14.99 per month (regularly $17.99 per month) after the 30-day free trial. The service has a vast array of features that help protect all the ways identity thieves might attack, through your credit files, your Social Security number, your bank accounts, your computer and more.

Identity Guard starts your protection with daily monitoring of your credit report at all three bureaus, which starts as soon as you sign up. Many other leading identity theft protection services do not provide any credit monitoring, much less three bureau monitoring. In theory, if all the other fraud monitoring is working, you don't need credit report monitoring to protect your identity, but in reality we think it's a highly valuable tool and the best way to catch identity thieves that have been able to circumvent other measures and open a new account in your name. Furthermore, monitoring your credit is something we believe most people should be doing anyway in order to maximize their credit scores. In addition to credit monitoring, Identity Guard provides the most extensive fraud monitoring of any of our reviewed services. The service monitors public records for any changes in your name, scans databases for application or Social Security fraud, and monitors the Internet's black market for any use of your credit cards or other personal information. They've also recently added anti-keylogging software, mobile security software, lost wallet protection (they can cancel your credit card accounts and give you up to $2,000 advance if you need it) and a Personal ID Risk Assessment. With the addition of Zone Alarm Internet Security software, a total Internet security suite including anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, anti-phising and more, Total Protection now also protects your computer and all your Internet activity from fraud. Like many credit monitoring services, Identity Guard Total Protection completes daily scans of all 3 of your credit files and notifies you of any changes. It also gives you all 3 of your credit reports and all 3 of your credit scores every quarter. It also has some very useful credit tools like the Credit Analyzer which allows you to see what effect taking different actions (such as paying off a balance or missing a statement) can have on your credit score. Many people are surprised at the dramatic effect one action can have on their score. All these features make Identity Guard not just the top identity theft protection service, but a best-in-class credit report and score monitoring service as well. None of our other identity theft protection services offer so much credit data. If anything new is found on your credit report, they will alert you by e-mail immediately. They also make it very easy to place fraud alerts with the bureaus yourself if you want to take that extra preventative step. You get all those for free with your 30-day trial so even if you decide you don't like it, you get to keep at no cost all three credit reports and scores, a public records report and the Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite for free. Buying all these separately would cost you well over $100.00.

In the unlikely event that you are a victim of identity theft while an Identity Guard Total Protection member, Identity Guard supplies you with $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance coverage and access to their Identity Theft Recovery Unit. While the $1,000,000 policy is nice, we feel the large dollar amount of these polices are not really necessary because people are not liable for fraudulent transactions made in their name so the direct monetary loss of identity theft is not usually anywhere near seven figures. We do greatly value the Identity Theft Recovery Unit, though, as the real cost of identity theft usually lies in victims inability to get credit for long periods of time, the cutting off of current credit accounts, and the time, effort and expense it takes to restore your good name. The ID Theft Recovery Unit helps you minimize these costs and get your good name and credit back as quickly as possible

The signup process for Identity Guard is relatively quick - you will go through a short series of screens asking you for information, including payment information. To verify your identity, you will be asked for your Social Security number, date of birth, and the answers to 5 multiple-choice questions of information in your file. By default, the credit reports and alerts are available instantly online and through e-mail. If you want hard copies mailed to you however, you can call their customer service number and get them at no extra charge. Identity Guard recently updated their member center so that it is now extremely useful. They make it easy to see what protections you have and haven't activated as well as what updated information is available to you. They are also great about letting you know via email when you have new reports available. Be sure to register all your credit card and bank accounts right away. In the event of a credit card theft, you can report the incident to Identity Guard and they will handle all the details for you, including reporting the cards as stolen and getting new cards issued to you. Identity Guard offers generous customer service phone hours (8am-11pm M-F and 9am-6pm Sat) as well as postal mail and e-mail contact methods. When we tried contacting them, a customer service representative answered almost immediately, and was able to provide useful advice about the service. Reporting for lost or stolen cards can be done on the phone or through your account, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Overall, Identity Guard offers the most protection of any identity theft protection service we've reviewed. It is a bit more expensive than other good alternatives, but for those that also want to keep tabs on their credit data or are just really serious about identity theft protection, Identity Guard Total Protection is the best way to go.

LifeLock Review: Identity Theft ProtectionGo to Site | Back to Chart

LifeLock is a great identity theft protection service at a great price. As a special offer for visitors to NextAdvisor.com, you can now get a free 30-day trial and $11.00 off the price of the service, paying just $9.00 per month or $99.00 per year after your free trial. You must click the link from our site to get this special promotion.

LifeLock monitors your identity and alerts you by email, postal mail and/or phone if your personal information is being used to open new credit cards, wireless services, retail credits, utilities, check orders/reorders, mortgage loans, auto loans, or non-credit related payday loans. If you discover that there has been an attempt to open a fraudulent account in your name, a member of LifeLock's remediation team will work with you to get the situation resolved free of charge. Since most identity theft occurs when thieves use your personal information to open new credit accounts (credit cards, bank accounts, phone accounts, etc.), LifeLock aims to prevent identity theft by stopping the fraudulent accounts from being opened in the first place. LifeLock also offers an excellent solution to protect children from identity theft. Child identity theft is an even faster growing crime than identity theft against adults. The CEO of LifeLock stands behind his product so firmly that he will gladly hand out his Social Security number on the website. While it is a great testimony for his service, we don't recommend you try it at home!

In addition to advance monitoring of new accounts opened in your name, LifeLock sends you a 3-bureau credit report annually at the time of the anniversary of your sign up with the company. LifeLock also reduces pre-approved credit offers and junk mail with your name on it from circulating, thereby reducing your chance of having your identity stolen. LifeLock recently added a new feature that is included in their service called WalletLock, which we think is excellent. If your wallet is ever stolen, you just call LifeLock and speak to a WalletLock specialist, who will contact each credit card, bank or document issuing company, cancel your affected accounts and complete the paperwork and steps necessary to replace your lost documents, including your credit/debit cards, driver's license, Social Security card, insurance cards, checkbook - even travelers checks - at no additional cost. LifeLock recently added two new services included in your membership to further protect you. The first, eRecon, monitors the Internet's black markets for any use of your credit card numbers, driver's license, Social Security number and email. The second, TrueAddress, notifies you if your address has been changed in any national databases, a common tactic of identity thieves. LifeLock's guarantee is one of the best out of any of the top companies for identity protection, and it is clearly stated on their website. They guarantee your good name up to $1 million if your identity is ever stolen. While this guarantee is great, direct monetary losses from identity theft are almost always much smaller since you are not legally responsible for paying any fraudulent debt a thief accumulated. The real cost of identity theft is the loss of ability to get credit for an extended period of time, the time and effort it takes to restore your good name, and many other adverse consequences that can even include mistaken incarceration.

Signing up was quick for us, and after two screens the company clearly labeled what we could expect from our account over the next year or so. Upon contacting customer service by phone with some questions, we didn't have to wait more than a moment for someone to pick up the phone, and they are available 24/7 for any questions or problems. LifeLock offers both monthly and yearly payment options for individuals and families, as well as a business-class service. Overall, LifeLock is a pioneer in identity theft protection and still offers one of the best values in the category.

ProtectMyID.com Review: Identity Theft ProtectionGo to Site | Back to Chart

[Editor's Note: ProtectMyID.com has set up an exclusive 800 number where NextAdvisor.com visitors can speak to a ProtectMyID.com representative to ask questions and ensure they get the latest and best deal possible. If you are interested in ordering ProtectMyID.com we recommend that you call the number: 866-958-MYID (6943).]

ProtectMyID.com is an identity theft protection service offered by Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus. In addition to 3-bureau credit monitoring, this service includes Internet scanning, identity theft recovery support, and a $1,000,000 product guarantee.

With 3-bureau credit monitoring, ProtectMyID.com will alert you right away if any changes are posted to your Experian, Equifax or TransUnion credit file. You'll have the option of receiving SMS alerts as well as email alerts. You will receive a single Experian credit report at sign up, but scores and additional reports must be purchased separately. ProtectMyID.com members who do want their reports and scores from all three bureaus can purchase them at a steeply discounted price of $19.95.

In addition to monitoring your credit files at all three bureaus, ProtectMyID.com scans the Internet to ensure that your Social Security number, bank accounts, credit and debit card numbers are not being used without your knowledge. In order to receive this protection, you must provide ProtectMyID.com with your account numbers once you have subscribed. Unfortunately, ProtectMyID.com will only scan for a maximum of three bank or credit accounts, which may be dissapointing to subscribers who wish to protect more than three accounts. ProtectMyID.com also monitors the U.S Postal Service database for address changes.

In the event that your credit or debit cards are lost or stolen, ProtectMyID.com's Lost Wallet service will help you cancel them immediately. In order to take advantage of the Lost Wallet service, you must enter these cards in your online account individually. If a bank or card issuer holds you liable for any fraudulent charges made on any of your cards, ProtectMyID.com will reimburse you. ProtectMyID.com also offers ChildSecure, a service that will monitor your child's credit files and alert you to any suspicious activity for an additional $6.95 per month. Since children's credit files usually go unchecked until after they turn 18, they are particularly vulnerable to identity theft, which can ruin their credit before they have even begun to establish a genuine credit history.

If you do become an identity theft victim while subscribing to ProtectMyID, you'll be covered by a $1,000,000 guarantee, which covers certain expenses including lost wages and legal fees. You'll also have access to a dedicated resolution specialist who will speak to you by phone and assist you in taking all the necessary administrative and legal steps necessary to restore your identity.

While ProtectMyID.com isn't the most comprehensive identity theft protection service available, 3-bureau credit monitoring and Internet scanning make it an effective detection service. This, combined with extensive identity theft recovery support, makes ProtectMyID.com a good choice, particularly for consumers who are interested in 3-bureau credit monitoring.

ID Patrol Review: Identity Theft ProtectionGo to Site | Back to Chart

ID Patrol is a new identity theft protection service offered by Equifax, one of the three national credit bureaus. This service has an impressive set of features that can help prevent, detect, and recover from identity theft. ID Patrol subscribers receive most of the benefits of Equifax's popular credit report monitoring service. These include one free three bureau credit report, unlimited access to Equifax credit reports, credit report monitoring and email alerts of changes to your credit report. The only thing that ID Patrol doesn't include is access to credit scores, but those can be purchased directly from Equifax for an additional fee. ID Patrol costs $14.95 per month which is the exact same cost as Equifax's stand alone credit reporting product. So, ID Patrol offers an excellent value for consumers that want access to credit data and advanced identity theft protection tool but are okay with buying their credit scores separately.

One feature that is unique to ID Patrol is the Credit Report Control interface that gives subscribers the ability to lock and unlock their Equifax credit report through the Internet or by calling an Equifax representative. Locking a credit report works in a similar fashion as a standard credit freeze in that it restricts access to your Equifax credit report, which can be an effective way to prevent unauthorized financial accounts from being opened in your name. If you need to need to allow lenders to access your credit report for any reason, such as to apply for a loan or a credit card, you can simply unlock your credit report for as long as you need it to be accessible. Additionally, ID Patrol includes WebDetect, an advanced scanning technology that scours criminal websites where personal information is bought and sold. If your personal information, such as your Social Security number or any of your credit or debit card numbers (you can supply Equifax with up to 10 account numbers to monitor), are found online then you will receive an email alert and specific suggestions and instructions from Equifax on what actions you should take next. ID Patrol also provides a toll free number for subscribers to speak to identity theft resolution specialists. These specialists can provide information and assistance in resolving any identity theft related incidents. Additionally, ID Patrol offers $1,000,000 in identity theft recovery insurance for those subscribers who are the unfortunate victims of identity theft.

We believe that ID Patrol is an excellent option for consumers who are looking for a variety of features and credit report access in an identity theft protection service.

ID Watchdog Review: Identity Theft ProtectionGo to Site | Back to Chart

[Editor's Note: ID Watchdog has set up an exclusive toll free number where NextAdvisor.com visitors can speak to an ID Watchdog representative 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ask questions and ensure that they are receiving the best possible deal on the ID Watchdog service. If you are interested in ordering ID Watchdog, we recommend that you call them at 800-233-1845.]

ID Watchdog takes a unique approach to identity theft protection. Instead of monitoring credit reports, ID Watchdog monitors a very long list of public records databases including the Social Security Administration, drivers or pilots licenses, auto, boat or plane registrations, criminal records, Homeland Security watch lists, address or name changes, bankruptcy, liens and other judgments or filings.

Each month, ID Watchdog's patent pending technology scours each of these public databases for misuse of your personal information. What makes ID Watchdog unique is that, in theory, their monitoring should catch not only traditional financial identity theft attempts but also things such as employment fraud where a criminal uses your social security number to secure employment. There are many types of identity theft that don't show up on your credit report immediately, or at all, but are likely to be identified by ID Watchdog's monitoring system. Once you sign up for the service and provide them with all of your personal information they will begin the monitoring process. ID Watchdog provides a monthly report which includes a detailed breakdown of all the checks they have run against your identity.

If the system finds any potential identity theft then you are alerted and a recovery counselor from ID Watchdog handles all aspects of recovering your identity. ID Watchdog has the most straightforward and extensive recovery guarantee that we have ever seen. There are no limits on how much time or money they will spend to recover your identity if is stolen while you are a member of their service. Their guarantee covers essentially every foreseeable form of identity theft including financial, medical, benefits, employment, criminal, tax or utilities fraud. The only items that the ID watchdog guarantee won't cover are actual reimbursement for financial losses or loss of income related to an identity theft. ID Watchdog claims a 100% success rate in recovering stolen identities and says that most recoveries take three to six months, although some can take up to two years.

ID Watchdog does have a few downsides from our perspective. At $19.95 per month, the service is nearly two times as expensive as many other services we have reviewed. Also, while the monitoring is extensive, ID Watchdog doesn't provide any credit report data which is not only useful for detecting identity theft but also helps inform consumers about their overall financial health.

We highly recommend ID Watchdog due to the unique approach to detecting identity theft and the 100% recovery guarantee. However, you may want to consider another service if you prefer a more preventative approach to identity theft protection or would like access to credit report data.

Equifax Credit Watch Gold Review: Identity Theft ProtectionGo to Site | Back to Chart

Equifax Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 Monitoring Plus Score Power is another great identity theft protection service. Designed primarily as a service to monitor your credit reports and scores (it is our top rated service in our credit monitoring reviews), it also works very well in detecting identity theft. As a special promotion for our visitors, you now get a free 30-day trial when you sign up from our site. When you sign up for the free 30-day trial, you also get a free Equifax FICO score and a free 3-Bureau credit report (reports from three bureaus laid out side-by-side for easy comparison). Since the FICO score is the score most lenders use to make decisions, this is the best score you can get. Equifax actually gives you an entire Score Power report which not only includes your FICO score but also a FICO Score Simulator that estimates what your score would be if you took certain actions, as well as a full explanation of factors affecting your credit score. Equifax is giving you both the report and score free just for trying their monitoring service for 30 days, so if you don't like it you can cancel and have paid nothing for your FICO score and 3-bureau report, which you would have to pay $40.00 for if you bought it separately. Canceling would defeat the purpose, though, since what is going to detect identity theft is their excellent 3-bureau monitoring service. We think monitoring all three bureaus is very important for both monitoring your credit and protecting against identity theft because sometimes lenders will only report a credit event to one bureau. Equifax constantly monitors all three bureaus and sends you an email alert within 24 hours of a change to any one of your three credit reports. You can also get an updated Equifax credit report any time you want. At only $14.95 per month after the free 30-day trial, this service is an excellent value. If you're looking for an identity theft detection service and also want to keep tabs on your credit reports and scores, Equifax Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 Monitoring Plus Score Power is a great solution.

Identity Theft Shield Review: Identity Theft ProtectionGo to Site | Back to Chart

Identity Theft Shield from PrePaid Legal and Kroll, Inc provides solid identity theft recovery support for victims but takes no steps to protect subscribers from having their identities stolen in the first place. The service offers single bureau credit report monitoring of your Experian credit file for $9.95 per month which also includes a free Experian credit report and score at sign up. Experian is the largest of the three credit bureaus and will likely reflect most major changes to your credit report, but we believe that three bureau credit monitoring is a better option since it eliminates the risk that a potentially fraudulent account or entry may not show up on your Experian credit report but end up on one of the other two bureau files in your name. Identity Theft Shield also offers a Gold package which includes credit report monitoring of all three bureaus, including Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, for $12.95. The Gold package also includes a credit report from each of the three credit bureaus at sign up.

Credit report monitoring is a good tool to help identify inconsistencies in your credit report that could be caused by identity thieves, but it doesn't prevent identity theft in any way. Other services we have reviewed, such as LifeLock, Identity Guard, Identity Truth and Trusted ID, take proactive measures to prevent identity theft crimes from being perpetrated against their subscribers. Identity Theft Shield, on the other hand, offers no tools that actually prevent identity theft.

Identity Theft Shield does offer extensive recovery services to its subscribers if they are the unfortunate victims of identity theft. Identity Theft Shield sets fraud alerts and sends notifications to all applicable government agencies and financial institutions on behalf of the victimized subscriber. It also monitors an extensive list of public and private databases in an effort to identify any misuse of a subscriber's personal information. Identity Theft Shield's recovery services also help reduce some out-of-pocket expenses and fraud resolution specialists are able to handle much of the heavy lifting when it comes to recovering a stolen identity.

Setting fraud alerts and proactively searching national databases for suspicious activity are both great services for victims, but they are also extremely effective in preventing and identifying potential identity theft crimes. In fact, many of the other services we have reviewed offer these tools to all subscribers as preventative measures rather than after a crime has already been committed as Identity Theft Shield does.

We do believe that it is a good service for victims, but many of the solutions it offers to help recover a stolen identity are used by other identity theft protection services to actually prevent identity theft in the first place. The lack of proactive identity theft prevention measures is the biggest downside to the Identity Theft Shield service.

Identity Guard Good Start Review: Identity Theft ProtectionGo to Site | Back to Chart

Identity Guard Good Start is a stripped down version of ID Guard's all-encompassing Total Protection program but still packs enough features to be a decent identity theft detection solution. What sets it apart is its tiny price of just $4.99 per month. Good Start doesn't do things like stop some of your junk mail or order your free credit reports for you like LifeLock, but it does give you something extremely valuable that they don't: credit monitoring of your Equifax credit file. Plus, it comes with Identity Guard's excellent customer service. Compared to its big brother Identity Guard Total Protection, Good Start has fewer features, including monitoring only one of the three bureaus (we recommend monitoring all three), no credit scores or reports and no additional fraud detection. So while we still recommend Total Protection for those most serious about protecting themselves from identity theft, Good Start is a viable option for those looking for a lower priced alternative that performs credit monitoring services at a very reasonable price. If price is a major concern, then Good Start lives up to its name, and is a good start for protecting yourself.