The best identity theft protection services of 2023

Aura comes with a comprehensive set of tools designed to fight cybercrime, including a password manager, credit inquiry alerts, malware blocking and a virtual private network (VPN). The service has a sleek interface for desktop and mobile, and it encrypts all online activity, making it harder for hackers to access your personal information.

Aura closely monitors online activity to detect any threats to personal data, such as breaches of passwords or a bank account opened in your name. In the case that identity theft is detected, customers are immediately alerted, and a white-glove fraud resolution team helps the victim resolve the fraud issue. Aura also provides up to $1 million in identity theft insurance to cover losses, such as lost wages and travel expenses.

Aura offers a free, two-week trial. After that, there are three billing plans: individual, couple and family. The individual plan comes with all of the services offered by Aura, aside from parental controls, and protects up to 10 devices. The next level up, the couple plan, comes with the same features but for two people and up to 20 devices. For families, the plan covers five adults, unlimited children and up to 50 devices. The family plan also comes with child social security monitoring and parental controls for devices.  All annual plans have a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Monthly costs (discounted if billed annually):
$15 for the individual plan
$29 for the couple plan
$50 for the family plan

IdentityForce, a division of TransUnion, offers an extensive monitoring system that detects fraudulent credit activity, changes of address, illegal trading of information on the dark web, sex offender registrations and inappropriate activity on social media. Customers get an alert when there’s evidence of any of these activities. Plus, the service notifies you when there’s a major data breach, such as if a social media platform is hacked or if a company is cyberattacked, so customers can take necessary steps to protect their information.

Should personal information be breached or used for fraudulent purposes, IdentityForce connects victims with a resolution specialist to complete paperwork, make calls and assist with other steps to restore their identities. Victims are also able to quickly cancel or replace debit, credit or ATM cards through the online service, and the company will reimburse up to $1 million in losses.

One of IdentityForce’s unique features is its credit management features, accessed with the UltraSecure+Credit plan. Not only does the service grant customers instant access to credit reports and scores from multiple bureaus, it also provides a credit score tracker and a credit score simulator. With the simulator, you’ll be able to foresee how different financial decisions, such as taking out a loan, affect your credit.

For the basic plan — called UltraSecure — customers get a 30-day free trial. The UltraSecure+Credit plan comes with credit management tools and includes some other features, such as a VPN and mobile phone threat detection, that the basic plan does not. With both plans, customers have the option to add child identity theft protection for $2.75 a month for each child.

Monthly costs (discounted if billed annually):
$17.99 for UltraSecure
$23.99 for UltraSecure+Credit

LifeLock offers comprehensive identity theft protection services for individuals and families, but it’s especially attractive for property owners. The features available to protect personal identity vary among its three plans and don’t come with device security, but they can be paired with Norton 360 suite at an extra cost to include device security tools such as a VPN. Its priciest plan, LifeLock Ultimate Plus, offers home title monitoring — a unique monitoring feature that’s difficult to come by. LifeLock’s home title monitoring feature notifies you if there are any changes in property ownership, a new lender is detected, a loan associated with your property was refinanced or notice of default on your property.

The LifeLock Standard product covers up to $1 million in legal and expert fees and up to $25,000 in stolen funds. With this plan, LifeLock monitors credit, the dark web and other networks where personally identifiable information may be used illegally.

LifeLock Advantage comes with all of the same features as the Standard product, except with a total of up to $100,000 in coverage for stolen funds. LifeLock Advantage comes with some extra features and alerts, including an identity block feature to block unauthorized account openings. Some additional alerts include alerts on crimes committed in your name and on bank account activity.

The final product, LifeLock Ultimate Plus, comes with all of the same features as the Advantage product, plus up to $1 million covered for stolen funds and some more features. In addition to investment account alerts and social media monitoring, among others, it includes an extra home title monitoring feature that accounts for any properties where you have ownership.

Monthly costs for individuals (discounted if billed annually):
$9.99 for LifeLock Standard for the first year, then $11.99
$17.99 for LifeLock Advantage for the first year, then $22.99
$23.99 for LifeLock Ultimate Plus for the first year, then $34.99

IdentityIQ offers services to help protect customers not only from identity theft but also from other cyberattacks. On all plan options, customers get full monitoring of their information and accounts as well as the Bitdefender Total Security package for a small extra fee. The Bitdefender software is a unique feature designed to detect malware and protect files on various personal devices, available for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. It comes with a VPN, antivirus and antispyware, a password manager and parental controls.

Like its competitors, IdentityIQ provides all of the typical services to help monitor for, spot and resolve cases of identity theft. Some of these services include credit report monitoring, dark web monitoring, expert assistance for restoring identity and up to $1 million in theft coverage. IdentityIQ also provides enhanced tools for managing credit, such as a credit score tracker and a credit score simulator, but these tools are only available on the highest priced plan.

There are four levels of plan options available with increasing monitoring capacity. Only the Secure Max plan comes with family protection, which provides an extra $25,000 in ID theft insurance for children.

Monthly costs, with Bitdefender included (discounted if billed annually):

• $6.99 for the Secure Plan
• $9.99 for Secure Plus
• $19.99 for Secure Pro
• $29.99 for Secure Max

Identity Guard’s service includes all of the basic features that help to protect identities — namely, web monitoring, alerts and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance. Expert help for remediating fraud is only available on the Ultra plan.

Identity Guard is designed to scan the web for personal information shared without authorization. The service is partnered with IBM Watson Artificial Intelligence, combining traditional web monitoring with AI detection to more effectively scan for threats. The Identity Guard site provides a free dark web scanner for any site visitors to check if their personal data has been compromised. Additionally, with a family plan, the service scans for your child’s information on the dark web and potential cyberbullying.

A variety of plans cater to consumers with differing needs. Identity Guard offers three types of individual and family plans. The basic plan for each is called the Value plan and is an affordable option, but it doesn’t include bank account monitoring or credit protection. Identity Guard Total includes bank account monitoring and credit monitoring. Identity Guard Ultra includes these features plus extra monitoring, such as home title and investment accounts monitoring, as well as an annual credit report.

Monthly costs (discounted if billed annually):
$8.99 for the individual Value plan, or $14.99 for families
$19.99 for the individual Total plan, or $29.99 for families
$29.99 for the individual Ultra plan, or $39.99 for families

Allstate Identity Protection features standard identity monitoring, including monitoring of the web and customers’ accounts and a unique visual, digital footprint. The Allstate digital footprint records online activity and organizes it into a straightforward, web-like visual, where customers can track where their information is being stored or spread online. When there’s a data breach or threat to personal information detected, the digital footprint highlights the threat and helps customers navigate steps to protect their identity. Additionally, the digital footprint service provides tips and resources on reducing the amount of personal data exposed online.

Allstate Identity Protections also provides expert remediation services if identity theft is detected. You’ll be insured up to $1 million for related expenses, not including stolen funds.

There are two tiers for an Allstate Identity Protection plan, and each tier has an individual and a family option. Each plan comes with a 30-day free trial. With a family plan, the service covers up to 10 members, including minors, college-age children and seniors. The Premier plan adds enhanced financial monitoring, credit reports, social media monitoring and a tax fraud refund advance.

Monthly costs (discounted if billed annually):
$9.99 for an individual Essentials plan, or $18.99 for families
$17.99 for an individual Premier plan, or $34.99 for families

IDShield comes with 24/7 monitoring of personal data, protection against malware, credit monitoring and comprehensive services for identity restoration.

The restoration services are a stand-out feature of IDShield. If the software detects identity theft, the victim is assigned a licensed private investigator, whose responsibilities include contacting appropriate institutions, helping to place a credit freeze and/or fraud alert on credit reports and restoring the victim’s identity to pre-theft status. After resolution, the private investigators keep the case open for an additional 120 days should the victim be targeted again. Additionally, investigators are available to provide consultation regarding theft trends and tips for how to be a safe online consumer.

IDShield plans share most of the same features, including an extensive monitoring system, full-service restoration and up to $1 million in reimbursement for unrecovered costs. The only differences between the plans are how many credit bureaus are monitored (one or three) and how many users the plan covers. The family option covers a couple and unlimited dependents.

Monthly costs:
$14.95 for an individual for one credit bureau, or $19.95 for three credit bureaus
$29.95 for a family for one credit bureau, or $34.95 for three credit bureaus

Zander offers two plans, the Essential Plan and Cyber Elite Bundle, both of which have individual and family options. For families, Zander covers up to two adults and 10 children. These offerings are more affordable than competitors, so they may be a good fit for those on a tighter budget.

Zander’s two plans, the Essential Plan and Cyber Elite Bundle, come with a selection of cybersecurity tools. Each offers personal information monitoring, data breach updates, specialists to help with identity recovery and up to $1 million in coverage for each adult. With the Cyber Elite Bundle, customers will also get malware protection, such as a VPN and antivirus software, and alerts for when personal information has been used to apply for a new account.

Zander does not provide credit monitoring, but the Cyber Elite Bundle does come with Experian CreditLock, which allows customers to instantly lock their credit files and block new accounts from being opened.

Monthly costs (discounted if billed annually):
$6.75 for the individual Essential Plan, or $12.90 for families
$9.99 for the individual Cyber Elite Bundle, or $19.49 for families