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A Guide to Identity Theft Protection

Last Updated: August 13, 2024
7 min read

Key Points:

  1. Recovery from identity theft may be a long and complex process.

  2. Identity theft protection services can help you keep your information private with monitoring and support.

  3. With identity theft protection services, you’ll have elevated financial security around the clock.

It can be a long and complex process to recover from identity theft. Identity theft protection services are a good idea if you’re looking for ways to protect your financial security, preserve your credit score, monitor your personal info, or help resolve identity theft. However, many identity protection services are available, and you’ll want to know how these programs work before signing up.

How do identity theft protection services work?

Identity theft protection services work differently depending on the program. Often, they'll include a range of services and tools that can help alert you when your personal info is online or if someone tries to open an account in your name. There may also be resources that can help you recover from a stolen identity.

Discover® offers its cardmembers comprehensive identity theft protection for $15 a month.

Some identity theft protection benefits and services include:

  • Credit monitoring: A change in your consumer credit report could indicate when a fraudster opens a credit card or personal loan in your name or is using one of your credit accounts without your permission. A credit monitoring service that tracks all three major credit bureaus—Equifax®, Experian®, and TransUnion®—may be more helpful than one that only monitors your credit report at a single credit bureau.
  • Dark web monitoring: Thieves may sell your personal info from a data breach on the dark web to other cyber criminals. When you sign up for an identity theft protection service, you may get an alert when information, such as your Social Security number (SSN) or phone number, appears on the dark web.
  • Additional identity monitoring services: Some programs can look for your information in private databases and public records. They may be able to alert you if someone opens a bank account or takes out a payday loan in your name or if your name appears in court records.
  • Social Security number (SSN) monitoring: SSN monitoring can send you an alert if a new name, alias, or address becomes associated with your SSN. When thieves have your SSN, they can use that information to get new credit cards in your name, secure employment (or unemployment benefits), and even steal your steal your tax refund.
  • Identity theft insurance: An identity theft insurance plan may help cover eligible costs related to identity theft recovery. Discover offers up to $1MM identity theft insurance—for legal expenses, reimbursement of stolen funds, lost wages, and more covered expenses.1
  • Identity resolution assistance: You may have access to a fraud resolution expert. If you're an identity fraud victim, they can help investigate your case and work with you to restore your identity.
  • Child identity protection: Your identity protection monitoring services may extend monitoring and assistance services to your children.

Did you know?

A child's identity may be more valuable to identity thieves. Parents often don't monitor their children's credit reports or think thieves will open new accounts in their children's names. Identity Theft Protection from Discover may be able to help.

How can I protect my child's identity?

A child's identity can be attractive to ID thieves because parents often don't monitor their children's credit reports. Identity protection monitoring services may extend monitoring and assistance services to your children. With Discover's Identity Theft Protection program, there's no additional cost—add up to 10 children.2

Before signing up for an identity theft protection service, review the company’s offerings to see what’s included and how much a subscription costs. You can compare Discover Identity Theft Protection to other providers.

What does identity theft protection detect?

Identity theft protection services go beyond essential credit monitoring or credit score tracking. These services look for your information in various databases and alert you of suspicious activity, such as a change of address. These alerts can be an early warning that an identity thief is trying to use your personal information to commit fraud. This allows you to respond to the issue immediately.

See if you're pre-approved

With no harm to your credit score3

Additionally, an identity protection service may include different types of assistance if you're a victim of identity fraud. While restoring your identity can be frustrating and time-consuming, having an experienced professional can help. Identity theft insurance policies may cover some of the related costs, too. Remember, identity protection isn't the same as identity theft prevention. The services generally focus on detection and recovery, but they can't keep your personal information from getting stolen in the first place.

7 ways to protect yourself from identity fraud

You can take several steps to help keep your information secure and protect yourself from fraud.

  • Don’t carry your Social Security card. You don’t want to become an identity theft victim if your Social Security number falls into the wrong hands. A good way to prevent identity theft is to keep secure information, like your SSN, in a safe place and only carry your card in your wallet when necessary. Contact the Social Security Administration immediately if you lose your Social Security card.
  • Destroy old documents. Thieves may go through your mail and trash, looking for old documents or electronics to try and find personal information. Practice destroying documents with sensitive data and safely disposing of old electronics to protect your personal information.
  • Check your credit score and credit report periodically. It’s good practice to check your credit score regularly and check your credit report with each major credit bureau a few times a year.
  • Watch out for phishing. According to the FTC, phishing messages can trick people into sharing personal information with cyber criminals. Be cautious of any emails, phone calls, or texts you receive that ask for your information, request you to log in to an account, or instruct you to “reset” your password. Most credit card companies and financial institutions won’t call, text, or email you asking you to verify your personal information, nor will they generally ask you to provide it urgently. These may be a sign of a scam.
  • Add a fraud alert or security freeze to your credit reports. A creditor may take extra steps to verify your identity before opening a new account if there's a fraud alert on your credit report. According to the FTC, a credit freeze is a free option that can keep creditors from accessing your credit reports as part of a new application. You can also contact each credit bureau and ask them to create and freeze credit reports for children under 16 years old.
  • Use unique passwords. Repeating the same username and password could make it easier for someone to take over multiple accounts. A password manager can help you create and remember unique passwords for all your accounts.
  • Enable multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication can keep someone from getting into your account, even if they know your username and password. Multi-factor authentication usually requires using more than one method to verify your identity when logging into an account. For instance, you may need to provide your password and username, which would be one factor, then type in a code sent to your smartphone via text, which would be the second. Multi-factor authentication can be critical to keeping your financial accounts safe from would-be cyberthieves.

Taking extra steps to keep your confidential information safe is essential, but your identity and accounts could still be at risk in a data breach. Identity theft coverage could help you quickly respond if someone uses your information without your permission, and it can help you recover if you are a victim of fraud.

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  1. Identity Theft Protection: Identity Theft Insurance is underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. (AIG). The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions. Review the Summary of Benefits: NY Onlyopens modal dialog or All Other Statesopens modal dialog.

    This product can only be agreed upon, purchased and delivered online. It is optional and voluntary. Full Terms and Conditionsopens modal dialog
  2. Child identity theft protection: Children added to your membership for no extra cost, must be under the age of 18 years old.
  3. There is no hard inquiry to your credit report to check if you’re pre-approved. If you’re pre-approved, and you move forward with submitting an application for the credit card, it will result in a hard inquiry which may impact your credit score. Receiving a pre-approval offer does not guarantee approval. Applicants applying without a social security number are not eligible to receive pre-approval offers. Card applicants cannot be pre-approved for the NHL Discover Card.

  • Legal Disclaimer: This site is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice. The material on this site is not intended to provide legal, investment, or financial advice and does not indicate the availability of any Discover product or service. It does not guarantee that Discover offers or endorses a product or service. For specific advice about your unique circumstances, you may wish to consult a qualified professional.