Are identity theft protection services worth the money? It’s complicated

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with it identity protection services for more than 15 years, despite having served as a consultant for some of these companies and used more than a dozen of these services.

In almost every presentation I’ve given on identity theft and fraud, I’m asked the same two-part question: Are these services any good, and can I trust the companies behind them?

The answer is complicated. The identity protection industry has a checkered past, surviving some early scandals. I also believe that identity theft protection companies may overstate what they do for subscribers.

But they do offer help credit monitoring and online security tools for anyone who doesn’t want to do the hard work of monitoring their identity or that of their children. Identity theft protection can also come in handy if your identity has been compromised and you need help recovering it.

Scandals in the early identity theft industry

Many of the major identity theft protection providers have been sued, penalized and fined for making misleading or exaggerated marketing and performance claims. Most exaggerated of all, they say they prevent identity theft, when in reality they don’t.

The Federal Trade Commission, for example, has filed charges Life lock in 2010, with the company falsely claiming this was possible prevent all forms of identity theft. LifeLock later agreed to a $100 million settlement in 2015 for contempt regarding the initial court ruling. The FTC also accused LifeLock of failing to adequately protect customer data and of failing to provide immediate security alerts to subscribers if it believes they are victims of identity theft. LifeLock was later acquired by Symantec, in 2016and is currently owned by Gen Digital.

Identity theft protection providers have also been accused by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of conspiring with banking partners to deceptively sign up customers for “add-on credit card” services they never received, including credit monitoring and identity theft protection.

In 2015, the CFPB has Affinion Group and Intersections, Inc. imposed a fine.the former owners of Privacy Guard and Identity guard$10 million for charging people for services they didn’t know about. The CFPB also imposed a fine Bank of America $727 million in 2014 and Citibank $700 million in 2015 in similar cases.

Since these massive fines have been issued and the industry has come under increased scrutiny, I’ve noticed that services are doing a better job of describing their features more honestly and delivering what their customers sign up for.

The reason to sign up for identity theft protection

The world of cybercrime, scams and fraud has changed significantly thanks to AI. And many of these ID protection products have changed along with it. They still offer identity protection, but with a greater focus on your online security.

Some of the best identity theft protection services offer dozens of features that go beyond identity fraud detection or identity recovery. They offer protection of bank accountscompensation for bank fraud, password managers, virtual private networks and antivirus protection to help you stay ahead of many online threats.

What I like most about identity theft protection services is that once you sign up, you are constantly reminded and informed about how to protect yourself. Many of these services offer you weekly reminders to check your bank and credit card statements and view your credit reports. As a cybersecurity expert, I know that arming yourself with information is the best way to protect yourself online.

A lot of identity theft protection services also offer three credit bureau monitoringwhich alerts you when credit accounts are opened in your name, such as a mortgage or a new credit card. While credit freezes are available to the public for free, most people don’t use them. So companies that offer identity theft protection can help people take better care of their credit.

Is identity theft protection right for me?

Identity protection services can be worth the money if these three things fall into place for you:

• You can afford it. Identity theft protection isn’t cheap, especially for family plans, which can cost anywhere from $30 to $80 per month. You can normally find individual plans for between $7 and $20 per month.
• You understand its limitations. Identity theft protection cannot prevent identity theft. However, it can alert you if something is wrong.
• You can use most of the included features. Identity theft protection companies offer great credit monitoring and online security tools that you can take advantage of, in addition to regular reminders of cybersecurity best practices.

Simply signing up for identity theft protection and sitting back is not a viable defense against any form of cybercrime, scam or fraud, especially with the rise of AI.

Although most identity protection services do offer this deep or dark web scansthat’s almost impossible to do in a meaningful way. Most stolen data is hidden behind paywalls or in places that security vendors cannot access.

There are already billions of records available on the dark web, and millions more are being added every month thanks to these capabilities data leaks. No vendor has the ability to continuously scan all those sources and all that data. So it’s best to assume that your data has already been compromised and you should take the necessary precautions.

If you sign up for one Identity theft protectionand if you use it correctly, you have a very good chance of significantly improving your protection against the increasing AI-driven wave of cybercrime.

But do your research. Compare company prices and features. And look at their track records and reputations. Don’t be impressed or moved by slick marketing campaigns or celebrity endorsements. They are not a good substitute for a good product at the right price.

Read more: CNET’s pick for the best identity theft services

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Consider signing up for identity theft protection if you’ve been a victim of a scam or identity theft. Aura is CNET’s pick for the best identity theft protection service.