metoo

Has anyone used the free trial offer for one month to receive 3 free credit scores?

Does Identity Guard give you a difficult time if you cancel after free trial is over?

Are they legit?

RevJim

Most of what you get from Identity Guard you can get for free from Credit Karma. CK offers free credit scores (sorry, just one) and free credit monitoring.

Identity Guard adds an insurance policy against identity theft, plus something they call SSN monitoring. And a few other smaller things like lost wallet "protection". The SSN monitoring is kinda vague on their website, but it looks like they watch for bank accounts opened with your SSN. They might also actively search the web for your private info and alert you if it shows up(?).

I've never used IG, but my suspicion is that if someone opens a bank account with your SSN, or posts it on the web, then something else they do will show up on your credit report around the same time. That would be spotted by CK's monitoring. So the value added by IG for $9-20 per month seems questionable to me.

I'm not saying it's a scam, just a weak value proposition (to me). They are definitely a legit company that's been around for a number of years.

gv111

If this is Citi identity guard, one can get it for $5 a month through a special link. I remember posting it earlier on FT. Just search here or on web.

emax48

I get it through Costco where it is a little cheaper for the base plan. It's pretty useful for keeping track of your score and planning churns. Also monitors and notifies you on activity daily.

Haven't tried the free trial but I haven't had a problem cancelling before. I cancelled and re-enrolled a couple times in the past, no hassles.

tjbrooks

I use it at $7.50/month through Coatco. I've cancelled it before, and the only issue is having to call during their 8A-5P hours.
I do think the score they give is conservative, as on three occasions I've had independent scores pulled days/weeks later that were 10-30pts higher (auto loan/Amex free/CapOne). As an engineer, I like conservatism.

metoo

Thanks very much. I don't intend to subscribe to any credit monitoring as I have a freeze on my accounts. I just want to have the free trial so i can see my credit scores.

I thought about Credit Karma but I guess I am concern about privacy as nothing in life seems to be free

Middle_Seat

Credit Karma and Credit Sesame will give you free approximations of your credit scores.

I use the $5 version of Citi monitoring service (mentioned above) to keep track of the number of hard pulls that have been done at each of the three reporting bureaus.

chuckcost

A give costco identity guard 5 stars, me and my wife been using it for almost 2 years now, and we are very satisfied with their service. Totally worth it.

It'sHip2B^2

If you have frozen your credit, you may not be able to use the service. My understanding is that a credit freeze is intended to block inquiries from institutions you aren't already doing business with.

thelark

Any credit score that comes from somewhere other than Fair Isaac (FICO) is worthless and means absolutely nothing.

philemer

Have to disagree. Yes, they won't be identical to a FICO score but mine are always close. FAKO scores are a guesstimation of course but do give some guidance.

thelark

no, it's worthless guidance. i've seen reports of people's scores differing by up to 100 points. if your score is really high or really low then maybe it will be in the ballpark; however, if that's the case, what does it matter anyway?

Cholula

Although this thread is fine here in OMNI, we feel it'll be a better fit in our Credit Card Programs forum.

________________________

Cholula
OMNI Co-Moderator

freeflyin

Costco is dropping Identity Guard as of 10/15 and replacing it with CSID.

Does anyone have experience with CSID?

Rock72

i use it mainly for peace of mind. i also have it via costco so it's a little cheaper.

i like it for the following reasons:

1) i get an alert every time credit is pulled. so if anyone is stealing my identity, i'll know.

2) probably just luck but i haven't had any issues since getting identity guard. in that time my wife's identity was stolen to sign up for a department store card and the fraudster bought some items, etc.

3) i feel a bit of peace of mind even after target gets hacked, anthem gets hacked, etc.

4) i get not just my credit scores but the details so i can see which accounts are open that i forgot about, etc.

etc. overall, i think the relatively minimal cost is worth it (forgot how much i pay)...