Identity theft protection: Best services and safety tips

What is identity theft, and why is it important?

Identity theft is a crime during which malicious actors steal personal information – like a person’s name, Social Security number (SSN), identification number (ID), or financial details – and may use it to commit fraud. Since identity theft typically is a result of a successful cyberattack (such as phishing), it can also be considered a form of cybercrime, with AI-driven identity fraud becoming the latest iteration of this crime.

Malicious actors perform identity theft for various reasons, for example, to use your stolen identity to commit fraud in your name. Further examples of identity theft include using your credit card to buy items, faking a mortgage application, taking out a lease, or applying for a passport. These fraudulent activities can damage your credit status, let alone cause significant financial damage. According to a 2022 study by NordVPN, hackers can earn as much as $17.3 million from stolen personal data by selling it on the dark web. However, with the cases of identity theft rising, this number is likely to be much higher today, causing serious concern for cybersecurity experts and signaling a looming threat to online users.

Identity theft protection services comparison

Choosing the right identity theft protection service may not be an easy task. With numerous providers offering different options, your head can start spinning pretty fast. To make your decision easier, it’s best to carefully evaluate your needs for identity theft protection. Here are some of the more popular identity theft protection providers to help you select the best solution.

*Disclaimer: NordProtect’s identity theft restoration service is part of a comprehensive identity theft recovery package that offers a reimbursement of up to $1 million for identity recovery expenses. To access the support of an identity restoration case manager, users must file a claim with HSB, which NordProtect has partnered with to provide the coverage. HSB is a global specialty insurance company and one of the largest cyber insurance writers in the U.S.

Each of the service providers cover the basic needs for a reliable identity theft protection. While some may offer extra features (such as a built-in VPN), their pricing may not be affordable to some users. For a balanced cost-efficient solution, you could look into providers such as Aura or IdentityGuard. However, with services such as NordProtect, you’re likely to get more benefits for a lower price.

Identity theft protection or fraud protection: Which one should you choose?

Choosing between identity theft and fraud protection solutions can be tricky. After all, one aims to protect all your personal data, including that beyond your bank accounts, while the other monitors your existing financial accounts for fraud. Generally, however, opting to safeguard yourself from identity theft may provide more benefits than fraud protection solutions.

Here’s why using identity monitoring services along with VPNs, encrypted communication, and anti-virus software may offer more benefits for the user.

Busy life, limited time for monitoring

With the pace of everyday life, practicing healthy cybersecurity habits can be difficult. Along with using a VPN, online document lockers, and password managers to alleviate this burden, identity theft protection services can further add to your peace of mind. With options such as NordProtect, you can leave cyber threat monitoring to others while browsing your preferred online content.

Caring for financial, personal, and family members’ safety

The harrowing consequences of identity theft only strengthen the wish to ensure the safety of financial, personal, and family member data. Identity theft protection providers can help you gain peace of mind, monitoring and safeguarding the most important data assets (such as passwords and credit card numbers, or even browsing session cookies).

Digital presence protection for kids and teens

As carefree users of online technology, kids and teens can be especially susceptible to the dangers of the internet. While young web surfers are less likely to suffer financial consequences, identity theft can lead to other problems, such as emotional damage. For example, through hijacked accounts, malicious actors may post disturbing content, commit fraud, or harass other people online leading to cyberbullying and emotional abuse. Using identity theft protection may help prevent such cases, safeguarding your family from emotional distress.

Identity theft protection tips

By the time an identity theft protection app has notified you of suspicious activity, it could be too late. If you want to know how to prevent identity theft, here are six quick tips to safeguard your identity:

• Use impenetrable passwords. Use different passwords for each account and store your passwords in an encrypted password manager (never in your browser). When creating a password, it’s useful to remember that a 10-character password can be cracked in a few months (in a brute force attack), while a 12-mixed-character password takes about 200 years to crack. So craft your passwords responsibly.
• Download your bank’s app. Use it to track your money, paying particular attention to unusual deductions. Most apps notify their users of every money transfer in real time, making them a useful transaction monitoring tool.
• Respond to data breaches. Change your username and password immediately if a company informs you that your details were involved in a data breach. If you’ve used the same one elsewhere, change it there too.
• Keep an eye on your credit score. If you’re already keeping on top of your finances, checking your score won’t hurt you. In case of unfamiliar changes to the credit score, contact your bank immediately and inform them about potential fraud.
• Use a VPN. Wherever you go online, your information is at risk. The NordVPN app, for example, instantly encrypts your traffic so it can’t be intercepted and protects your IP address for online privacy. It also encrypts your browsing data when you’re using public Wi-Fi (another good reason to use a VPN on your phone) and can help reduce the appearance of malware-ridden spam ads.
• Use all cybersecurity tools at your disposal. Sometimes protecting yourself from identity theft may take just a few extra seconds. For example, if you’re uncertain about a URL, you can check the link’s safety online. Likewise, using trusted providers, you can scan your files for malware and block malicious downloads. Finally, you can even prevent scammers from using your personal data for identity theft, if you invest in tools, such as Incogni — a personal data erasure tool.

The best identity protection is vigilance, which is essentially what identity theft protection apps offer. If you secure your personal information online with a VPN, use super-strong passwords and pay attention to your finances — you’ll have much less to worry about.

What can you do if you’ve become a victim of identity theft?

The most important thing to do is to act quickly. In response to your identity theft, do the following

• Report identity theft. The first thing to do is report that you’ve become a victim of identity theft to the authorities. If you live in the U.S., you can report ID theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by going to IdentityTheft.gov or calling 1-877-438-4338. The FTC will collect all the necessary details and advise you on what to do next.
• Notify affected companies and banks. Most companies now have fraud departments. Contact the companies where you know the fraud occurred and let them know. In such cases, they may close or freeze your accounts until further notice. Beware that the window for you to report fraud to your bank is small, especially if you’re hoping to get your money reimbursed.
• Change your logins, passwords, and PINs. It’s important to stop the fraudsters from accessing your accounts. Make sure you reset important passwords quickly and securely.
• Contact your local police department. While this step isn’t always required, you may choose to report identity theft to the police. Doing so is particularly important if you know who committed the theft or if your identity was fraudulently used in an encounter with the police (i.e., it was a criminal identity theft).