IdentityForce vs Lifelock – Reviews of Identity Theft Protection Competitors

With data breaches occurring frequently, it is imperative to have personal identity theft monitoring and protection services. Although many of the services that are provided by companies like IdentityForce and LifeLock can be completed personally, not everyone has the time to monitor every potential source of data that could be compromised.

That is why a comparison of IdentityForce vs LifeLock is so important. When you know what each service is able to provide you, it becomes possible to decide which subscription will best serve your needs.

Here are the key points of comparison to look at when comparing these two identity theft monitoring providers.

IdentityForce vs LifeLock: Which is Better?

Point #1: Service Protections
IdentifyForce and LifeLock provide many of the same services for their customers. From a pure coverage standpoint, IdentityForce provides a couple of key coverage features that LifeLock does not provide.

If you have insurance records that you want to have monitored, or you are concerned about the information contained on your vehicle’s license plate registration, then you’ll want to choose IdentityForce.

All other categories provide you with the basic service coverage, which includes your name, number, address, public records, email address, and more with the monthly subscription.

Point #2: Additional Services
There are a couple of service areas where the debate can swing one way or the other, depending on what it is that you need for full identity theft protection coverage.

When compared to LifeLock, IdentityForce provides you with access to credit history reports, fraud alerts, and credit monitoring services. You will receive a $1 million insurance policy in case something does happen to your identity while being covered by this service.

When compared to IdentityForce, LifeLock offers you mailing list removal services. You’ll also receive a $1 million service guarantee, plus cost compensation benefits under certain circumstances when you are an active member of their identity theft monitoring program.

Both companies provide 24/8 customer service hours to ensure that you can take action to protect your identity should something occur.

Point #3: Pricing
IdentityForce offers two tiers of service for customers to consider. The UltraSecure plan is priced at $17.95 per month, while the UltraSecure+Credit tier is priced at $23.99 per month.

The difference between the two plans is that the Credit option provides you with credit reports, scores, and monitoring from all three major bureaus in the United States. You’ll also receive a credit score tracker and a score simulator.

LifeLock offers consumers two membership options. You can choose to have LifeLock only, or you can add Norton to your membership if you prefer.

There are three tiers of services available. The Standard tier is priced at $9.99 per month, while the Advantage tier is $19.99 per month and Ultimate Plus is $29.99 per month. If you choose to include Norton with your membership, then you must add an additional $5 per month to the subscription.

It should be noted that to receive the full number of services that were compared in the first two points, you must subscribe to the Ultimate Plus plan. If you choose the Standard plan at $9.99 per month, then all you receive are credit alerts and Social Security number alerts. You still receive $1 million in coverage for lawyers and experts, but only get $25,000 in stolen funds reimbursement and up to $25,000 in personal expense compensation.

Although both companies talk about being able to protect family members from identity theft as well, only IdentityForce creates a family pricing structure to consider. You can add child identity theft protection for $2.75 per month extra on either tier. A spouse would need to purchase their own protection plan.

At LifeLock, you must purchase a protection plan for everyone involved. Each child would require their own full-service protection plan, as would a partner or spouse. For a family with two children, full coverage at the top tier would be over $50 per month cheaper with IdentityForce compared to LifeLock.

Point #4: Monitoring Differences
If you are looking at basic monitoring services which are available with IdentityForce vs LifeLock, then there are two key monitoring differences to look at. Pay day loan monitoring and social media identity monitoring are only available through IdentityForce.

With pay day loan monitoring, you will know immediately if someone attempted to take out a quick cash loan or a payday loan while using your identity.

Then with social media identity monitoring, IdentityForce will monitor several accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, to see if inappropriate activities are occurring. If posts could be perceived as being violent, have profanity, or be categorized as a discriminatory or bullying post, you will be notified of the post to follow up on the issue.

Point #5: SSN Differences
If you’re concerned about someone taking your Social Security number to use it to their advantage, then the IdentityForce vs. LifeLock debate is important to consider as well.

With IdentityForce, you will be alerted if there is an alias or unfamiliar name that becomes associated with your Social Security number in the United States. They will also alert you if the address that is connected to your SSN changes. Because this information is relayed immediately when discovered, it can save you a lot of time and stress if you encounter the issue of a stolen Social Security number.

LifeLock also provides SSN monitoring as part of their services. What they provide is monitoring against the use of a fictitious identity. This means an alias or familiar name that is associated with your primary name might slip through the monitoring system. It will provide you with an alert when an unfamiliar name only is used in conjunction with your Social Security number for some reason.

Point #6: Antivirus Software
Although LifeLock offers Norton licenses for a small additional fee with their membership packages, many people may not realize that IdentityForce offers something similar.

With IdentityForce, you’re provided with access to SentryBay software that is designed to proactively guard against a data breach from your daily computer activities. It provides you with protection against keylogging and provides an immediate delete function to remove unauthorized records.

With LifeLock, you gain access to all of the advantages that Norton is able to provide. Not only do you gain protection against malware, as you do with the SentryBay software package, you’re also going to gain protection against the latest predators that attempt to infiltrate your devices.

Norton will also work with your email, which means those attachments or hidden downloads that sometimes slip through won’t cause you the same headaches if you didn’t have this protection installed. It will detect, then eliminate spyware, while also giving you an option to encrypt passwords to prevent someone from gaining access to your critical data.

If you’re in the market for an anti-virus package and need identity theft protection services as well, the LifeLock is a superior choice – but it does come with an added cost. From a value perspective, IdentityForce is still a good option to consider.

Point #7: Employee Benefits
Both LifeLock and IdentityForce offer programs for employers who would like to offer their workers a unique benefit. In 2016, only 1 in 3 employers in the United States was offering identity theft protection as a benefit.

From a cost standpoint, both companies offer this benefit from an individualized perspective. Each company is different, with unique identity theft protection needs, which means every cost is different as well. IdentityForce doesn’t have generic rates available, but LifeLock suggests a $7.49 per employee, per month cost that would provide a single employee with the Elite benefit for free.

LifeLock holds another small advantage here, as their benefit program is a little more developed for distribution.

The Benefit Elite plan for employees would cover Social Security number issues, provide data breach notifications, and offer investment account activity alerts.

A Final Thought on IdentityForce vs LifeLock

When comparing IdentityForce vs. LifeLock, one must compare their own budget for these services and the value of each service that they need. For basic services only, LifeLock provides a better option with their $9.99 per month tier, even though it provides basic monitoring services and nothing more.

For those who are looking for full-package services, then IdentityForce will give you what you pay for. One important consideration here is the $1 million in protections. For IdentityForce, it is an insurance policy. With LifeLock, it is also insurance, but is distributed in a way that may not be guaranteed.

If the identity theft issue occurred, a failure of LifeLock services is required to take advantage of the guarantee.

Each service provides its own unique strengths to consider. Evaluate each key point, compare what you receive to what you require, and that will help you to know which option will best meet your needs.