PrivacyGuard
PrivacyGuard provides credit reporting, monitoring and identity theft protection services, backed by educational tools and resources and professional recovery services if something goes wrong.
What Sets PrivacyGuard Apart?
PrivacyGuard, an Affinion Group company, offers monthly subscriptions for comprehensive credit score, reporting, monitoring and identity theft protection services. Customers have the option of ID Protection, Credit Protection or a Total Protection plan that includes both.
When comparing credit and identity theft monitoring services, many people wonder whether they should do their own self-monitoring or invest in a professional service instead. With PrivacyGuard, there are a number of benefits beyond time and money savings. The major perks include up to $1 million ID theft insurance coverage, professional recovery services in case of fraudulent activity, an annual public records report and a number of educational tools and calculators to help customers improve credit and manage debt.
PrivacyGuard Services & Prices
PrivacyGuard offers three plan options to safeguard your credit and identity. With any of these plans, there is a 14 day trial period that costs $1. The monthly billing period begins after the trial period ends.
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ID Protection
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Credit Protection
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Total Protection
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| Starting Price | $9.99/mo. | $19.99/mo. | $24.99/mo. |
| 3-Bureau Credit Reports | No | Yes | Yes |
| 24/7 Credit Monitoring | No | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Credit Score Tracking | No | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Score Simulator & Financial Calculators | No | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Info Hotline | No | Yes | Yes |
| ID Fraud Recovery Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ID Verification Monitoring | Yes | No | Yes |
| Online Directory & Dark Web Monitoring | Yes | No | Yes |
| SSN Event Tracking | Yes | No | Yes |
| Public Record Monitoring | Yes | No | Yes |
| Reduction in Pre-Approved Credit Offers | Yes | No | Yes |
| $1 Million ID Theft Insurance | Yes | No | Yes |
PrivacyGuard FAQs
How does PrivacyGuard work?
PrivacyGuard monitors activity across all three credit bureaus and all available public records. Since most incidences of identity theft or fraud occur online, they also use state-of-the-art tools to monitor data breaches, online directories, and dark web traffic (underground and black market websites) to discover any evidence of stolen or vulnerable information.
Does PrivacyGuard offer any kind of guarantee?
Credit and identity theft monitoring services can’t necessarily prevent criminals from targeting your data, but they can help you respond quickly to mitigate damage as quickly and inexpensively as possible. All PrivacyGuard plans include dedicated professional recovery support in the event you become a victim of fraud. ID Protection and Total Protection subscribers are also covered by ID Theft Insurance for up to $1 million. If your identity is stolen, this insurance will cover eligible expenses associated with resolving the theft and restoring your identity.
What equipment is required?
These services are performed digitally, so you don’t need any special equipment to subscribe to PrivacyGuard, other than a computer or smartphone with an internet browser so you can access your account details at any time.
How do PrivacyGuard’s prices compare with its competitors?
PrivacyGuard’s monthly subscription costs are competitive with other credit and identity theft monitoring services. However, due to the way that PrivacyGuard separates its credit monitoring and ID theft monitoring services, you’ll have to look closely to compare the exact services you’re looking for. For example, some of PrivacyGuard’s competitors have entry-level monitoring plans that blend basic credit and ID theft monitoring services. In PrivacyGuard’s case, you’d have to upgrade to the Total Protection plan to get coverage in both areas.
Which PrivacyGuard plan offers the best value?
Since the Total Protection plan bundles the credit and ID theft monitoring plans at a discounted price of $24.99 per month, it could be considered PrivacyGuard’s best value plan. On the other hand, if Total Protection includes services you don’t want or need, you may find a better value in either of the lower cost plans.
What are the customer complaints against PrivacyGuard’s parent company?
PrivacyGuard is one of many divisions of its parent company, the Affinion Group (formerly known as Trilegiant Corp.). Several years ago, the parent company settled a $25 million class action lawsuit for posting unsolicited or unauthorized charges for its products (including Privacy Guard) to customers’ credit cards or other accounts. Examples of more recent customer complaints can be seen on the Better Business Bureau website.
