It is easier than ever for a criminal to get ahold of your personal information. Fortunately, it’s also easier than ever to employ the help of an identity theft protection agency to keep your credit and personal information secure. If you’re looking for an established, dependable identity theft protection company, consider Equifax.
Equifax offers a popular ID Patrol plan that provides a variety of services for a low monthly fee. Many people choose Equifax because of their experience in the credit industry as one of the three main credit bureaus. In addition, there are a few other plans available, and all of their plans can be canceled at any time.
Quick overview
- Focuses on credit card fraud prevention
- Fraud alerts added to credit accounts issued by all three credit bureaus
- Option to lock your Equifax credit report so no one else can see it
- Regular credit reports for all three agencies
- Unlimited access to your Equifax credit report
- Outstanding 24/7 customer support and access to professional Identity Theft Resolution Specialists
- $1 million in identity theft insurance with no deductible
Monitoring your credit scores
If you’re primarily concerned about credit card fraud, the Equifax ID Patrol plan has you covered. Because Equifax is one of the three credit bureaus, they are able to keep an expert eye on your Equifax accounts, but they also have access to your Experian and TransUnion accounts as well. If they detect potential fraud, they will contact you immediately.
Alerting you to potential fraud is extremely important, but it’s also important to contact each credit bureau. With the ID Patrol package from Equifax, you can rest assured that that they will alert each credit bureau about potential fraud on your accounts. This alert activates an additional step on your accounts in order to extend credit, which will keep criminals from accessing your information.
Not only does Equifax monitor your credit accounts for you, they also provide you with the tools to monitor your own credit. They will send you a three-in-one credit report, with unlimited access to your Equifax credit report.
Additional plans available
The ID Patrol plan may be one of the most popular, but there are also a few other plans to choose from.
If you want to monitor your personal information, like your Social Security number, in addition to your credit accounts, you may want to consider the Equifax Complete plan.
If you’re worried about other members in your family, choose the Family plan. With this plan, you can monitor two adults and up to four children in your home.
No matter which plan you choose, you can cancel at anytime, but they do not provide partial refunds if you choose to cancel your plan in the middle of the month.
Identity Theft Resolution Specialists available 24/7
Monitoring your information is only half the battle. If potential fraud is detected, you’ll likely need some help reestablishing your credit. Unlike other identity theft protection agencies that only offer customer service hours five or six days a week, Equifax offers 24/7 service. Identity Theft Resolution Specialists can walk you through the steps you need to take to get your identity back, as well as provide you with monetary support with their $1 million insurance policy.
Unique features
It’s important to understand that Equifax is one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, which makes them one of the most dependable identity theft protection agencies on the market.
Although many identity theft protection companies provide you with credit reports for some or all of the major credit bureaus, with the Equifax ID Patrol plan, you have unlimited access to your Equifax report.
One appealing feature of the ID Patrol plan is your ability to lock your Equifax credit report so that no one but you can see it. If criminals are unable to find your credit information, they are also unable to use it fraudulently.
Interested in learning what your credit score is without paying a monthly fee? You can pay $15.95 for access to your Equifax credit score for a full 30 days without signing up for a plan.
How Equifax ID Patrol compares to other providers
Because the Equifax ID Patrol plan focuses on your credit accounts, they do not monitor your personal information. If you want more comprehensive identity theft protection, you’ll have to pay a bit more for the Equifax Complete plan. Even though this plan will monitor your Social Security number, it won’t monitor public and criminal records that some other agencies will monitor.
With the focus on your credit card accounts, they don’t provide any computer software with their plans.
Pricing
The Equifax ID Patrol plan is affordable at $16.95 a month, but it’s definitely a bit more expensive than other identity theft protection agencies that offer more comprehensive services. The Complete plan costs even more at $19.95 a month, while the Family plan will set you back $29.95 a month.
The bottom line
When it comes to credit account protection and access to your credit scores, it doesn’t get any better than the Equifax ID Patrol plan. However, Equifax won’t provide you with the comprehensive identity theft protection services that some other agencies can offer.