IDShield monitors personal and financial information and offers a mobile app, an updated credit score, and prepaid legal help through licensed investigators.
IDShield Review: Identity Monitoring and Protection
September 29, 2022
Best Availability
Our rating:
3.8 out of 5.0
3.8
3.8
4.03.8Overview
LegalShield IDShield is one of the best identity theft protection services out there. IDShield doesn’t just monitor your Social Security number and financial information for signs of identity theft. It also provides access to private investigators if identity theft does occur. This perk makes IDShield a good option if your information’s breached and you need personalized help getting back on track.
Read on to see how IDShield can protect your identity.
Compare IDShield plans
| Plans | 1 Bureau | 3 Bureau |
|---|---|---|
| Individual price | $14.95/mo. | $17.95/mo. |
| Family price* | $29.95/mo. | $34.95/mo. |
| SSN monitoring |  Yes | Yes |
| Change of address verification |  No | No |
| Lost/stolen wallet assistance | Yes | Yes |
| Bank/credit account alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Credit monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Social media monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Private investigators | Yes | Yes |
| Credit bureaus checked | 1 | 3 |
| Learn more | – | – |
Data effective 09/29/2022. Offers and availability subject to change.
*A family plan can be used for two adults and up to 10 dependent children.
IDShield’s individual and family packages come with the same features, including mobile app access and private investigators. The main difference between plans is the number of credit bureaus that provide information.
IDShield pros and cons
Pros
Access to licensed private investigators- Personal, financial, and credit information monitoring
- Social media and online credentials screening
- Free mobile app for Android and iOS
- Three-bureau credit monitoring (higher-tier package)
- Emergency after-hours support
Cons
No online membership cancellation option (must be done in writing)- No free trial period
Why three bureaus?
While all three bureaus share information, there’s no guarantee identity theft will be reported at the same time. Your best defense against identity theft is to catch it quickly, which is why we prefer more comprehensive monitoring with credit reports from all three bureaus.
Price
IDShield’s pricing is straightforward and easy to understand: just $14.95 to $19.95 per month for individual monitoring and $29.95 to $34.95 per month for family monitoring. And you can add up to 10 kids at a non-premium price—something to keep in mind if you have a large family.
As we said before, individual packages include all the same features as family packages. You don’t have to worry about expensive upgrades or missing out on essential services; you just have to decide how many people you want covered.
Overall, IDShield’s prices are comparable to other identity protection services, and there are no upgrades, hidden fees, or price hikes after the first year. But if budget is your primary concern, there are less expensive options for monitoring your identity without losing coverage features.
Features
IDShield monitors a wide range of personal and financial information. In addition to continuous credit report monitoring, it’ll scan the dark web to see if your information has been stolen and sold. Here are a few things the brand monitors:
- Name, date of birth, phone numbers, and address
- Social Security number, driver’s license number, and passport number
- Bank accounts (up to 10)
- Credit card, debit card, and retail card numbers (up to 10)
- Credit score and report
- Medical ID numbers
- Public and court records
Dark web scans
Sensitive information can be sold in pieces, so IDShield’s AI also looks for partial usernames, passwords, and ID numbers.
IDShield doesn’t monitor your bank accounts directly. But it does look for instances where your information is used for fraudulent activity, like opening accounts or applying for payday loans. And you’ll be kept in the loop so there are no surprises on your credit score.
IDShield used to have the IDShield Vault password manager for extended online safety. In 2019, the brand removed this feature because, according to IDShield, customers weren’t using it. But if you’d really like a password manager with your identity theft protection, don’t despair. IDShield told us that the brand hopes to release another password manager in the future.
If you’d like a separate password manager, one of our favorites is LastPass.
Licensed private investigators
IDShield focuses on both identity protection and identity restoration. If you become a victim of identity theft, an IDShield investigator will be assigned to your case to help you through the entire process. These investigators have jurisdiction across the United States so they can track down identity thieves.
Online security: Credentials and social media
IDShield monitors social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, for anything that poses a privacy or reputational risk. It also provides credentials screening. If any of your usernames and passwords are used together, you’ll be notified so you can change your passwords right away.
The social media monitoring feature can also be used to monitor kids. The IDShield AI searches your child’s social media for certain words or phrases. If these words show up on your child’s social media, it suggests they’re having age-inappropriate discussions, using age-inappropriate language, or being cyberbullied (or cyberbullying someone else). Once you’re in the know, you can address the situation.
$1 million service guarantee
If identity thieves do get ahold of your information, IDShield includes $1 million in identity fraud reimbursement to help you recover.
For instance, if someone steals your driver’s license and then gets a ticket in another state, you may be required to appear in court and prove you weren’t the offender. The travel expenses to get to the other state are covered by this service guarantee.
Customer service
We spoke with IDShield’s director of product leadership to gather information for this review. From our conversation, we learned that recent changes to the plans stemmed directly from customer concerns. That’s a sign of tailored customer service.
As for online reviews, because IDShield went through an overhaul in the summer of 2019, some of the customer service issues highlighted online are no longer relevant. Even when we don’t disregard old comments, reviewers seem fairly satisfied with IDShield.
Availability
We feel like IDShield has gone out of its way to be available for customers, and we appreciate that.
IDShield customer service reps help customers by phone, email, Twitter, or Facebook. That’s useful if you need or want to write instead of talk . . . or you prefer unsynchronized discussions due to an odd schedule.
IDShield customer service reps help customers by phone, email, Twitter, or Facebook.
Although IDShield’s customer service hours officially run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT on weekdays, there’s an emergency line open 24/7. So if something urgent comes up, you’re not on your own.
You can also consult with a licensed investigator at any time, even if you only have questions about data breaches or suspicious activity on one of your accounts.
Written cancellation policy
If you want to cancel your IDShield membership, you have to do it in writing. There’s no option to do it over the phone or online. That’s pretty inconvenient for busy customers.
IDShield vs. the competition
| Brands | Zander | IdentityIQ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan price range (individual coverage) | $14.95/mo. to $19.95/mo. | $17.95/mo. to $23.95/mo. | $6.75/mo. | $6.99/mo. to $29.99/mo. |
| SSN monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Change of address verification | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lost/stolen wallet assistance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank/credit account alerts | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Credit monitoring | No | No | No | No |
| Medical record protection | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mail list removal | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Social media monitoring | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Licensed private investigators | Yes | No | No | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Credit bureaus checked | 1 to 3 | All 3 | None | All 3 |
| ID theft insurance amount | $1 million | $1 million | $1 million | $1 million |
| Family plan available | Yes ($29.95/mo. to $34.95/mo.) |  Yes ($24.90/mo. to $35.90/mo.) | Yes ($12.90/mo.) | No |
| Learn more | ||||
| Read our review | – | Read review | Read review | – |
Data effective 9/29/2022. Offers and availability subject to change.
Compared to other recommended identity theft protection services, IDShield has mostly average offerings at an average price. It has many essential features but also lacks some, such as bank account monitoring and protection for medical records.
The real draw is the less common offerings, like IDShield’s PIs or its social media monitoring, which allows you to keep an eye on your kids’ online activities. If either of those features excites you, IDShield’s the way to go.
Bank account alerts
IDShield plans to roll out this feature in 2020.
When it comes to family plans, Zander’s identity theft insurance has a delightfully low price. For $12.90 a month, Zander covers an unlimited number of kids, as long as they’re your dependents.
But as an insurance brand, Zander doesn’t do credit report monitoring—which isn’t very helpful. The big reason to get ID theft protection for kids is to guard their credit and their futures. So for family protection, we suggest IDShield over Zander.
Our recommendation
If you’ve already been a victim of identity theft and need help with the restoration process, IDShield’s prepaid PIs might be a good fit for you. And if you have a large family and you want to monitor everyone’s information, IDShield’s family plan is extremely affordable.
With comprehensive identity monitoring, plus a free mobile app for easy access, you can feel confident that you’ll know about any red flags right away. Sound like what you want? Then go ahead and sign up with IDShield today.
If you’d like to see more IDShield reviews before you make up your mind, take a look at our comparison of IDShield vs. LifeLock. Or if IDShield’s identity theft protection service isn’t cutting it for you, check out our review of IdentityForce.
Contributing author: Kate Herrick
