Full Review:
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[Editor's Note: For a limited time, TrustedID is offering NextAdvisor.com visitors an exclusive 15% discount and free 14-day trial. There is no coupon code required for this offer but you must click on a link from our site.]
TrustedID's IDFreeze offers a tremendous value for identity theft protection starting at just $7.01 per month (with annual prepay), making it the most cost-effective identity theft protection available. It's an even better value for families, since at just $13.46 per month (with annual prepay), you can cover everyone in your household at less than half the cost of the individual plan (if you pay month-by-month, it will cost you $8.50/mo. for the individual plan and $16.99 per month for the family plan).
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. The only important feature this product lacks is three-bureau credit monitoring, which alerts you when someone tries to open a credit account in your name. While TrustedID's other monitoring would hopefully catch this activity, it's hard to be sure without monitoring of your credit report.
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. 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.
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. However, we have had a couple of issues with these notifications working properly so we would recommend you make a note on your calendar and not rely on TrustedID alone for this. 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, and it will not hurt your credit or prevent you from getting credit. Since this product lacks credit monitoring, we would recommend setting the fraud alerts. They are actually much better protection than credit monitoring because they can stop the identity theft before it happens whereas credit monitoring alerts you as it is just starting.
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 you're being protected and whether your account is missing any information. Overall, TrustedID offers a great identity theft protection solution and a fairly comprehensive yet cost-effective option for those serious about preventing identity theft.
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