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Experian IdentityWorks Identity Theft Protection Review 2023

8.8
very good
Sarah Pritzker

In a Nutshell

IdentityWorks is the identity theft product from popular credit bureau, Experian. With a name already synonymous with identity security, you can bet this ID theft option is going to be a good one, and in fact, it is. IdentityWorks offers instant credit file lock, extra secure login requirements, and easy online signup. What's more, you can also get a 30-day free trial, discounted family plan, and affordable plans for everyone.

pros

  • Free 30-day trial
  • Family plans available
  • Affordable and cost-effective

cons

  • Customer support is not available 24 hours, 7 days a week
  • Have to pay for extra full credit reports

Experian® Experian® Visit Site

A brilliant solution for:

  • Individuals looking to keep their identity and personal info safe
  • Families who want to affordably protect parents and children

How does it work?

Sign up with IdentityWorks by choosing a plan and entering your personal information into the secure site. Experian will begin monitoring your accounts within 48 hours of signup, though it can take up to 4 days to get total coverage (including Equifax and TransUnion monitoring).

You’ll receive some introductory emails from Experian explaining exactly how to set up your account. Unlike some software-based options that scan your devices for questionable behavior or data breaches, IdentityWorks monitors your personal accounts and sends out notifications if any red flags are triggered.

What does this service watch out for?

IdentityWorks has exceptionally good coverage for identity theft protection. Probably because it is Experian (a credit bureau that knows an awful lot about credit, personal data, and identity theft), IdentityWorks offers more than the average spread of credit monitoring services. Some of them include:

Credit monitoring

Monitoring of all 3 major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

- Credit alerts

Notifies you of new credit inquiries, new account openings, credit utilization, positive activity, dormant accounts in your name, and basic FICO score alerts.

- Reports

You’ll get daily FICO score reports based on Experian data. Plus, if you are on the Premium plan, you’ll get quarterly 3-bureau scores.

- Dark Web surveillance

No matter what plan you choose, you'll get dark web surveillance. IdentityWorks scans more than 600,000 dark web pages for personal identifying information.

- Public records monitoring

This service includes monitoring of many types of social records including court records and arrests. This will also let you know if someone changes your mailing address (redirects your mail to go to a new address, something scammers often do to intercept your mail).

- Loan monitoring

This is a huge benefit. IdentityWorks will notify you if someone attempts to take out a loan in your name. This can include payday loan monitoring and other types of loans as well.

- SSN monitoring

Another vital ingredient to identity theft protection, Social Security monitoring tells you any information that is linked to your Social Security number including any associated addresses or other names.

- Financial account takeover monitoring

This will send you an alert if anyone tries to take over your bank account or to open an account using your name or other personal identifiers.

- Sex offender registry

Be the first to know if someone on the registry moves in near you.

Additional services include:

- CreditLock

CreditLock is an IdentityWorks exclusive feature. Basically, it is an automatic lock on your Experian credit file. What’s neat about this feature is just how simple it is to use. It is literally just a toggle switch that you can tap to lock or unlock your Experian credit file to prevent unauthorized access to your credit file.

Additional features such as fraud resolution and ID theft insurance are covered below.

Recovery services - what can IdentityWorks do if my identity is stolen?

Nobody wants to think about having their identity stolen, but with statistics rising every year, it’s something that everyone should be prepared for. Having an identity theft protection plan is an excellent step, but no software is foolproof. So, the question becomes, what will the company do if your identity is stolen. In the case of IdentityWorks, quite a lot.

  • ID theft insurance up to $1 million

Dealing with identity theft is an expensive and painful process. One thing that IdentityWorks does to make the process less difficult for you is covering most of the expenses. Depending on which plan you purchase, you can receive up to $1 million in reimbursements. This can cover things like legal expenses and professional advice, fraudulent charges, and personal expenses that build up quickly.

  • A restoration specialist

This is an invaluable representative that takes charge of your case in the event of identity theft. The project manager will handle your case from beginning to end, walk you through the complicated legal and technical procedures, and help to ensure that your claims are filed properly, moved along quickly, and resolved completely.

  • Lost wallet replacement assistance

IdentityWorks will also help you clear up the mess of losing your wallet by helping you contact providers, cancel cards, and get replacements.

Reporting a dispute is also much simpler with IdentityWorks than it is with many other identity theft providers. You are given the option to initiate a dispute from your smartphone, over the phone, via the online Dispute Center, or by mail. You’ll receive email updates to let you know your status at every stage of the dispute process. In general, Experian resolves all disputes within 30 days, which is super fast for this type of work. Plus, IdentityWorks goes the extra mile by getting in touch with whatever third party agencies are required to resolve the dispute.

How easy is it to use?

Experian really makes IdentityWorks easy to use. After you download the software, you are pretty much free to go. You can set up alerts and decide how you want to be notified. Otherwise, the rest is taken care of by IdentityWorks.

Pricing

IdentityWorks offers 2 pricing plans, Plus and Premium. Additionally, if you signed up for the annual plan, you'll get a 17% discount.


IdentityWorks Plus
IdentityWorks Premium
Price per individual monthly
$9.99
$19.99
Price per individual annually
$99.99
$199.99
Price per individual plus up to 10 children monthly
$14.99
$24.99
Price per individual plus up to 10 children annually
$149.99
$249.99
Price per couple and up to 10 children monthly
$19.99
$29.99
Price per couple and up to 10 children annually
$199.99
$299.99xr
Benefits Based on individual account
Plus
Premium
Identity theft insurance
Up to $500K
Up to $1M
Dark web surveillance
Yes
Yes
US-based fraud resolution specialist
Yes
Yes
Lost wallet assistance
Yes
Yes
SSN monitoring
Yes
Yes
Address change verification
Yes
Yes
Bank account and cc takeovers
No
Yes
Identity validation alerts
No
Yes
Payday loan monitoring
No
Yes
Court records and bookings
No
Yes
Sex offender registry
No
Yes
File sharing network monitoring
No
Yes
Social network monitoring
No
Yes
Quarterly 3-bureau FICO scores
No
Yes
Experian-based FICO scores
Daily
Daily
Score tracking
Yes
Yes

The fact that IdentityWorks offers a family plan really makes it one of the most affordable options out there. For example, competitors may offer a lower individual rate (though $9.99 a month is pretty cheap), but those same competitors will not offer a family plan. So, you’ll have to sign up for a new coverage plan for each family member, skyrocketing your identity theft coverage.

Plus, the family plan offers child identity protection features like Social Security number trace and social network monitoring.

Experian® Experian® Visit Site

Help & Support

IdentityWorks offers personal assistance through its customer support center. This is manned by US citizens who understand your issues and speak your language. The one downside to IdentityWorks’ customer support is that it is not available at all hours of the day. Instead, you can reach a representative via the below phone number from 6am to 8pm PT on Monday-Friday, and 8am to 5pm PT Saturday and Sunday. This limited customer support access may leave some consumers uncomfortable about their coverage.

Bottom Line

IdentityWorks holds up to the expectations that you would have coming from a big name like Experian. You’ll get all the ID theft protection you could ask for including credit report monitoring, Social Security number monitoring, and Dark Web surveillance. Additionally, with the family plan included, IdentityWorks offers some of the most affordable protection available today. Take a look at this ID protection. You’ll be glad you did.

Sarah Pritzker writes for top10.com and is a content writer with years of experience and a keen interest in the vast world of online consumer products. She enjoys helping readers make sense of the options on the market in a variety of fields.

Experian® customer reviews

Based on 30 reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

Top Reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

3 years ago

It is a value considering how expensive it is who your identity is compromised. Experian is through and lets me know if something does not look quit correct.

3 years ago

Good ID protection at a reasonable rate. I've been using their service for well over 10 years with good id protection.

3 years ago

There have been no problems with the plan and no further thefts. So it is good.

3 years ago

They continually monitor my credit and advise me if any irregularities exist. No issues yet.

3 years ago

Good company. Due to all the data breaches, this is the company not only who I trust but the credit cards are companies recommended and gave us a free complementary service with them. Their website is very easy to use.

3 years ago

Unfortunately, identity protection is a necessary product these days. Experian is a high quality service.

3 years ago

I liked that they were fast to remove items. They even offer credit card suggestions

3 years ago

Customer service is excellent and timely. I am alerted immediately if a new card is opened in my name

3 years ago

It provides good service & I trust them. I feel protected by their services.

3 years ago

I haven't had any problem and it was easy to set up. I've only had it for a couple months at most.

3 years ago

I have this service which not only monitors my internet and credit cards, but provides Identity theft coverage up to $1,000,000.

3 years ago

It is great to have Experian to monitor and report on my information. I am able to relax .

3 years ago

It was offered free due to a security breach so the price is right. It is easy to use and provides information on inquiries on my accounts. It also looks at the dark web

3 years ago

I never had any problems with them. And I get a notification every time that there is something I need to check.

3 years ago

Very reliable an easy to use. Haven't had any hacks into my account (contrary to popular belief about the data breach).

3 years ago

I am relatively new to Experian IdentityWorks, so I haven't had a lot of experience with it.

3 years ago

So far I have not had any problems with the service. Too early to actually judge how good service is.

3 years ago

No issues yet. And it's a free trial so you get to see if you like it.

3 years ago

I was enrolled by a company after they had a security breach. I have been enrolled free several times in the past five years due to security breaches.

3 years ago

I haven't had to deal with an identity theft issue, but so far the service is working as I'd have expected.

30 reviews
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