ReliaShield Identity Theft Protection Review - Pros, Cons and Coverage

Affordable monthly plans - including a family option that covers kids free of charge - and comprehensive coverage set ReliaShield apart in the identity theft protection industry.

Getting your identity stolen is a fear that faces many people, especially those that do a lot of business online. One wrong move and thieves can have access to your Social Security number, financial accounts, credit cards, and more. This can lead to you getting passed up for jobs, having your bank accounts drained, and ruining your credit score.

To help protect against potential identity theft, many consumers are turning to identity theft protection companies.

These groups monitor for mentions of individual consumers’ personal information, alerting them to suspicious activity and helping them recover in the event of a theft or loss.

**One such company is ReliaShield. Founded in 1999, it aims to be one of the most affordable options for identity theft protection. **

With plans starting at $7.99 per month for individuals and $15.99 per month for families, ReliaShield has positioned itself among the lowest-cost options on the market while also providing comprehensive identity theft monitoring, alerting, and recovery services to its customers.

Its three levels of plans offer wide-ranging personal information monitoring, as well as 24/7 customer support in the event that your identity is stolen.

Where most identity theft protection services don’t offer family plans and instead charge small additional monthly fees to add children to the service, ReliaShield’s family plans cover two adults, as well as any children under the age of 18 in the household.

If you’re looking for affordable, comprehensive identity theft protection coverage, ReliaShield may be a great option to choose.

ReliaShield Identity Theft Protection: What You Need to Know

ReliaShield has been in business since 1999, making it one of the older identity theft protection companies in the industry. That means their business model is stable and, for anyone considering working with them, they can take comfort knowing the company has been around for a while.

Tiers

They offer three tiers of plans for both individuals and families, and plans start at $7.99 per month for individuals and $15.99 per month for families. Even the lowest tier of plans - Essential - offers all types of identity theft, monitoring of your Social Security number and personal information, and monitoring of court records.

The higher tiers provide more comprehensive coverage, including credit score monitoring - one credit bureau under the Prime plan and all three credit bureaus under the Elite plan - as well as social media monitoring, bank account takeover notification, and credit card application notification.

Signing Up

You provide ReliaShield with some of your personal information, such as your home address, birthdate, and Social Security number. They then enter that information into their monitoring software and routinely check for any changes or use of your personal information.

If ReliaShield finds that your information has been compromised somehow, you are notified immediately. The company offers a 24/7 customer service hotline so you can get the process of locking down your information and beginning to recover from any theft as soon as possible, no matter what time of day it is.

ReliaShield also provides identity theft recovery help, giving you a dedicated certified identity theft specialist to help you make phone calls, fill out paperwork, and pursue other action. There is no time limit or monetary limit to this assistance, so you can work with your representative for as long as is necessary until your identity is restored.

Unfortunately, if you have been the victim of identity theft prior to working with ReliaShield, they do not offer any assistance in recovering from that incident. This can be problematic for people who have suffered a great loss from identity theft, or one that’s taken a long time to get rectified.

How Does ReliaShield Work?

ReliaShield’s main goal is to protect its customers from having their identity stolen in the first place.

To do that, they carefully monitor a wide variety of data and locations, including the dark web. Their software looks for any time your personal information has been mentioned or used, seeing if someone has taken over your bank accounts, applied for new loans or credit cards, or sold your personal data so someone else can use it.

If ReliaShield detects unusual activity using your personal information, the alert you immediately.

This allows you to take protective measures such as freezing your credit, calling your bank, and even securing a lawyer. You get your own dedicated certified identity theft specialist from ReliaShield to help you through the whole process.

This person can help you make phone calls to the right places and fill out paperwork, helping you recover your identity.

There is no time or dollar amount limit to the help you receive from your certified identity theft specialist, so they work directly with you until your identity is completely recovered from the theft.

Unlike most other identity theft protection services which don’t offer family plans, ReliaShield offers plans that cover two adults and any children under the age of 18 living in the household. This helps you keep billing for services simplified, as well as streamlining the alerts and identity theft monitoring for your whole family.

Adding monitoring and protection for children is especially important, as children are increasingly becoming the victims of identity theft. Because children aren’t routinely running their own credit reports or receiving bank statements, this theft can go unnoticed for years and really cause problems when it comes time to look for a job, apply for student loans, or look for a loan to buy a car or a house.

Where is ReliaShield Identity Theft Protection Available?

ReliaShield is available in all 50 states.

How Much Does ReliaShield Cost?

ReliaShield has three tiers of plans, and each tier is available for individuals and families.

The first level of service, the ReliaShield Essential plan, starts at $7.99 per month for individuals and $15.99 per month for families. If you pay for a year in full, individual plans are $87.99 per year for individuals and $179.99 yearly for families.

The ReliaShield Prime plan is $14.99 monthly for individuals, or $164.99 yearly if paid in full. For families, this plan is $29.99 per month or $329.99 if paid annually.

The final level of service, ReliaShield Elite, is $23.99 per month for individuals and $47.99 per month for families. If paying annually, individual plans are $263.99 and family plans are $527.99.

What Does ReliaShield Identity Theft Protection Cover?

ReliaShield provides monitoring of your personal information in a variety of situations and places.

Some of the types of monitoring ReliaShield provides include:

Dark Web Monitoring

Personal information is bought and sold on the dark web, where criminals use it to commit crimes. It’s difficult to know whether your information is out there on the dark web unless you know exactly what you’re looking for.

ReliaShield monitors the dark web for mentions of your personal information. If they detect that your information is being traded on the dark web, they alert you so you can take protective measures.

Social Security Number Monitoring

Your Social Security number is almost as unique as your fingerprint. It’s how you file your taxes, apply for loans and credit cards, get financial assistance, and even identify yourself to certain organizations and institutions.

If someone has access to your full Social Security number, they can do a lot of damage by applying for new loans and credit cards in your name, or even committing crimes such as fraud.

Change of Address Monitoring

When you open bank accounts, financial accounts, and credit cards, you give the financial institutions your home address. This information is used to send you statements, important information, and new debit and credit cards.

Criminals looking to gain access to your bank account can change the address on that account without your knowledge, allowing important communications to be sent to them instead of you. They then drain your accounts or open new accounts in your name, causing you lots of trouble.

ReliaShield monitors your accounts for these changes of address, notifying you if they see them happening.

Court Records Monitoring

Some criminals can use your name and personal information to commit crimes, such as fraud. If charges are pressed, your name could appear in court records without you knowing any action is pending.

ReliaShield monitors court records for new mentions of your name, birthdate, and other personal information, notifying you immediately so you can take care of the situation if necessary.

Data Breach Updates

Data breaches have been in the news frequently in the last few years, including high-profile breaches at Target, Equifax, and eBay. Often, people don’t find out about these breaches until they hit the news, and by that time it’s too late to take corrective or protective measures.

As soon as ReliaShield finds out about a new potential data breach, they notify you so you can see if your information was compromised and take protective steps if you discover your information was stolen.

ReliaShield Identity Theft Protection Features:

• Three tiers of monitoring and protection plans
• Both individual and family plans available
• Kids are protected free with all family plans
• Affordable monthly payments
• Discounts for paying annually
• Wide variety of monitoring options, including dark web monitoring, court records monitoring, and data breach updates
• 24/7 customer service helpline for questions and concerns
• Personal certified identity theft specialist helps you recover from identity theft
• $1 million in stolen funds and expense reimbursement
• Free credit report reminders at all levels of service
• Unlimited restoration services mean you get help every time you have a problem
• All types of identity theft covered

Pros and Cons of ReliaShield Identity Theft Protection

Here are some of the pros and cons of choosing to work with ReliaShield for your identity theft protection:

Pros:

• More than 20 years in business
• Both family and individual plans, with kids covered free under family plans
• Wide variety of monitoring services
• Unlimited identity theft recovery services with individual certified identity theft specialist
• $1 million in stolen funds and expense reimbursement
• Free credit report reminders
• Covers all types of identity theft
• A rating from the Better Business Bureau

Cons:

• Credit monitoring only available with top tiers of service
• Three-bureau credit monitoring only available with most expensive service
• No recovery coverage if you previously suffered identity theft

Discounts on ReliaShield Identity Theft Protection

ReliaShield offers discounts if you pay for a full year up front.

ReliaShield Reviews from Past and Existing Customers

ReliaShield’s online customer reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with consumers saying they’re overall happy with the level of service provided by ReliaShield.

“I am incredibly satisfied with the protection I receive through ReliaShield. After purchasing the Prime plan, I put in the information that I wanted to be monitored and got email alerts letting me know if anything was at risk. I haven't had to use them because I was a victim but I feel like I'm in good hands if something does happen.” - Ashley J.

“The representative I worked with was so helpful. He talked to me about which plan was right for our family. The Neighborhood Predator Monitoring and Social Media Monitoring are invaluable, especially if you have children.” - Samantha

“I'm impressed with the ease and simplicity of signing up with ReliaShield. Every category is listed and explained. Already found several issues that allowed me to take care of possible problems. Very happy I chose ReliaShield for Identity Theft Protection. I feel much more at ease now. Thank you!” - Lydia M.

How to Purchase ReliaShield Identity Theft Protection

1. Visit www.reliashield.com.
2. Select your plan - Essential, Prime, or Elite - and whether you want individual or family coverage.
3. Enter your personal information, such as your address, birthdate, and Social Security number.
4. Enter your payment information.

How to Contact ReliaShield

Address: 6213 Charlotte Pike Nashville, TN 37209 **Customer Service: **(888) 201-1944 Website: www.reliashield.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReliaShield-2046124522282902/

ReliaShield Review: Summary

No matter how careful you are with your personal information online, identity theft can happen to anyone. And its effects can be devastating on you personally, professionally, and financially.

Companies such as ReliaShield aim to help protect people from identity theft by monitoring their personal information online, alerting consumers when their identity is being used improperly, and taking steps to protect the consumer from future damage.

ReliaShield is unique in the identity theft protection industry for a few reasons. First, its rates are extremely affordable for both individuals and families, with plans starting at $7.99 per month for individuals and $15.99 per month for families.

Second, children are covered with ReliaShield for free under family plans, giving them protection from identity theft. This is important because many children are falling victim to identity theft due to their clean credit histories and the fact that any theft can go unnoticed for many years.

Despite its highly affordable monthly rates, ReliaShield offers a broad range of monitoring options and comprehensive recovery assistance, protecting consumers from the damaging effects of identity theft.

If you’re looking for an affordable identity theft protection service that also protects you on a wide variety of points, ReliaShield is a great choice.