ProtectMyID Review of March 2024

ElitePersonalFinance
Last Update: March 11, 2023 Identity Theft Companies Reviews

If you are shopping around for identity theft protection services, you’ve probably stumbled across ProtectMyId, among others.

This company, owned by Experian, offers various services that promise to prevent your identity from being stolen. If it is stolen, they offer a service that claims to resolve problems as they occur.

What is ProtectMyId.com?

ProtectMyId.com is a suite of identity theft protection services owned and operated by Experian, a leading information services agency and one of the 3 major consumer credit rating bureaus that offer credit scores and credit reports.

Is ProtectMyID a Scam?

As it is owned and operated by a leading consumer credit reporting bureau, it is safe to say that the service is not a scam. Your information is safe with Experian, and with their line of services, you can be assured that your identity will not be compromised due to the company.

ProtectMyID Essential Package: What Do You Get?

For $15.95 per month, you can get the Essential Package, which is currently their main offering.

The service is divided into three distinct purposes: Detect, Protect, and Resolve.

Their “Detect” services include:

  • Surveillance Alert Notifications. They will alert you if they see anything suspicious happening. This is to inform you and keep you up to date on what’s happening under your name. They will also give you an All Clear alert to let you know that everything is OK. This will prevent you from worrying all the time about your situation.
  • Credit Monitoring. They do more than check your credit card statements. They will look for many different signals to predict identity theft, including checking to see if anyone is taking out a loan in your name or maliciously using your name.
  • Web Scan. There are places all over the web where people buy and sell compromised personal information. They will scan those sites to check if your SSN or credit card information is being offered for sale, and then they will notify you.
  • Address Change Notifications. They will notify you if someone is trying to file a fraudulent change of address in your name, so they can get your mail to surf for personal identification.

Their “Protect” services include:

  • Lost Wallet Protection. If you lose your wallet, or if it is stolen, you can call up ProtectMyID, and they will go through the process of replacing your credit cards, medical cards, and debit cards.
  • Child Identity Theft Protection. They will monitor your child’s credit report to ensure that nobody uses their identity to take out debt.

Their “Resolve” services also include:

$1 Million in identity theft insurance is included.

ProtectMyID Reviews: What Are People Saying?

This service receives mediocre ratings from people living in the US.

PCWorld rates it at 3 stars, citing that it can be a little perplexing to set up and manage at times. It only allows the monitoring of three cards and does not offer comprehensive family identity theft protection (link to TrustedID review) like TrustedID.

Other people have said that the biggest con is that credit reports are only available for a fee. That’s unlike many of the other identity theft protection companies around.

ProtectMyId vs LifeLock and ProtectMyID vs IdentityGuard

ProtectMyId.com, at $15.95 per month, has a cost similar to that of LifeLock and IdentityGuard. But how do the benefits stack against each other? Let’s find out now!

LifeLock has services starting at $10/month for the most rudimentary of services.

However, LifeLock has the ability to upgrade to more comprehensive services, which ProtectMyID does not. If you want to spend up to $30/month, you can get many services that ProtectMyID doesn’t have, such as:

  • Monthly Credit Score Tracking.
  • Bank Account and Investment Account Takeover Alerts.

LifeLock’s $10/month service offers all of the services that ProtectMyID offers, except for Child identity theft protection. If you don’t have any children, then you may as well choose LifeLock over ProtectMyID.

IdentityGuard has two types of protection: Essentials and Total Protection.

The Essential Plan costs you $10/month, just like LifeLock. However, it does not have an address change notification, which both LifeLock and ProtectMyId have.

IdentityGuard Total Protection, on the other hand, is on the pricier side. It’s $20/month, compared with $16/month for ProtectMyId. However, IdentityGuard offers some of the most comprehensive protection available.

IdentityGuard offers these different types of additional protection:

  • Computer and Keystroke Encryption Software.
  • Tri-Bureau Credit Analyzer.
  • Credit Reports and Scores from All 3 Bureaus.

If you want comprehensive protection for the best price, then IdentityGuard Total Protection is right for you.

Is ProtectMyId For Me?

ProtectMyID is best for people who want the peace of mind of being protected but don’t necessarily have the most active credit portfolio. If you move often, then you will want to address change notifications.

If you are a low-risk customer, especially with a child, you may want to pay $16/month for this service.

Some helpful tips for protecting yourself from identity theft:

  • Switch to chip technology cards as soon as possible. Within the next few years, all merchants that take credit cards will be required by law to use chip-available machines. The chip technology, currently standard in Canada and many other parts of the world, prevents credit card skimming by unscrupulous people.
  • Please keep track of every institution that has your address and when you change it, contact them. If you want them to stop sending you mail, contact them. This way, mail thieves are less likely to get your info.
  • Be careful with your SSN. If you are entering it on a secure government site, clear your computer of viruses if a key logger is present.

If you want to learn more about identity theft protection, check out our article on protecting yourself from identity theft!

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