Credit Monitoring Services Comparison Table of 2021 (Pricing & Features)
The table below makes it easier to see the crucial information for each provider. Take a peek to see which service stands out and serves your most pressing personal needs.
Provider | Bank Account Takeovers | Family Plan | Free Trial | ID Theft Coverage | Investment Help | Loan Monitors | Mobile App | Money-Back Guarantee | Monthly Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ID Watchdog | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $14.95 – $34.95 |
Identity Guard | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 30 days | $7.50 – $29.17 |
My FICO | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | $19.95 – $39.95 |
Experian | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $9.99 – $19.99 |
ID Shield | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $12.95 – $32.95 |
Credit Karma | Yes | No | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | $0 |
Identity Force | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pro-rated | $8.99 – $35.90 |
Trans Union | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | $25 |
LifeLock | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $8.99 – $26.99 |
Privacy Guard | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $9.99 – $24.99 |
Features of Identity Theft Protection Plans
A credit monitoring company often offers additional information and assistance to its clients. For example, customers may be able to take advantage of identity theft protection or personal insurance coverage.
Below are some key service features to consider when looking for a provider.
Anti-Bank Account Takeovers
If hackers can manage to get access to a person’s debit card or information, they could potentially take over the bank account. Fortunately, many identity protection plans protect against this kind of theft and can spot fraudulent activity instantaneously.
Credit Report Monitoring
This type of assistance often goes hand-in-hand with many businesses that offer free credit monitoring. It provides reports from the three main bureaus and analyzes any had inquiries or unusual activity. This is ideal for spotting fraudulent actions right away.
Payday Loan Monitoring
This feature is less common but very beneficial. It searches for the client’s name among high-interest loan companies. If it finds a match, then it immediately alerts the customer.
Hackers tend to take out high-interest loans when impersonating an ID, which causes financial ruin to the victim.
Credit Score Reporting
There are tons of commercials and ads about how important this score is, and it can be quite irritating. However, it’s even more disastrous to see a score plummet because of ID theft.
Identity Theft Insurance Coverage
Sometimes a provider helps to monitor credit reports but doesn’t offer identity protection. Having this kind of assistance is crucial because it can cover fees, stolen funds, and other issues a victim may face.
Bank & Credit Card Activity Alerts
Most people know that they shouldn’t wave their debit cards around in public. That said, fraudulent purchases still happen. This type of report can alert the client whenever their bank statement lists an unusual or foreign transaction.
401k & Investment Activity Alerts
Individuals work hard for their investments. That’s why many companies have security measures that look over 401k and other investor accounts. This way, all of those savings aren’t annihilated with a single fraud attempt.
From an early age, individuals learn to fiercely protect their social security numbers. Many providers go the extra mile and regularly check to see if anyone is using a client's SSN illegally. The process involves scanning millions of data points, so it's worth having.
Loan Application Monitoring
So many people take out loans for education, housing, or starting a family. This makes loan applications an easy target for hackers and ID thieves. Look for a company that double-checks your name isn’t being used on a faulty app.
Depending on the bank, it may have features such as fraud alerts, unusual activity notifications, password encryption, phishing and scam alerts, and related advice. They may or may not offer monthly monitored check-ins, so be sure to check.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What Are Considered Credit Monitoring Services?
These types of businesses watch over a client’s credit report and notify them of any fraudulent activity or unusual changes. Sometimes this assistance is free while other times, there is a fee involved. The pricing and range of scope vary depending on the company.
The list above is a great place to start. Individuals can then ask each provider for more information regarding the assistance offered. Just remember that features can include monitors, alerts, loan application status checks, overseeing insurance, and more.
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Why Are These Best Identity Theft Protection Services Worth It?
To be named the best credit monitoring service of 2021 means that the provider offers a range of reports and data points for customers.
Even if there is a monthly fee involved, it’s usually well worth the price, and here’s why.
- Consider that a hacker could wipe away years of savings with just a single transaction. Without proper protective assistance, there’s no way to recover from that promptly.
- Many companies have deals and plans for families, spouses, and those that bundle features.
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Should People Pay for Credit Monitoring?
Free credit monitoring is available and may be a great option for those who are low on cash or are just beginning to build up a credit report. They may have a shorter financial history or could be a new debit cardholder. In that case, a no-cost version could be the first step. Many of these plans come with weekly or monthly reporting and monitor SSN usage.
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Do Banks Offer Credit Monitoring?
Yes, many banks have some form of free credit monitoring. It’s also common for financial institutions to use mobile apps so customers can manually check in on their accounts.
Depending on the bank, it may have features such as fraud alerts, unusual activity notifications, password encryption, phishing and scam alerts, and related advice. They may or may not offer monthly monitored check-ins, so be sure to check.
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How Much Does it Cost for Credit Monitoring?
Pricing varies depending on the financial institution. Typically, the cost could be a few dollars up to $20 each month. Take into consideration all of the features that come with that kind of coverage, and it’s clear that it’s better than trying to do everything yourself.
That said, free credit monitoring is also available from certain providers, including some on this list.
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What is Free Credit Monitoring?
Free monitoring watches over a person’s bank cards and accounts and provides a weekly or monthly report of all related activity.
This information includes things like:
- Mismatched payment statements
- Hard inquiries from loan companies
- Unusual actions or foreign transactions
- Many no-cost plans send out regular updates from the three main bureaus so customers can keep track of their financial standing
- Mobile alerts send details and notifications immediately so clients can stop hackers and scammers in their tracks
Keep Your Personal Finances Where They Belong - With You
People work hard for their money, so they don’t want to see it all get squandered in one fell swoop, especially if it’s by the hands of a scammer. To protect those precious funds, clients turn to credit monitors that cover all the bases when it comes to overseeing fraudulent activity and unusual transactions.
They scour the dark Web, assess SSN use, and ensure that personal financial details aren’t floating around among insecure websites and databases. These businesses give consumers a head-start against hackers, so be sure to take the opportunity.