Equifax ID Patrol Review

ID Patrol provides comprehensive credit file monitoring, as well as identity theft resolution should your ID be stolen. As it is a service of Equifax (one of the big three credit monitoring bureaus), ID Patrol offers some services and benefits that few other identity protection firms can. Equifax has integrated its ID protection service very closely with its credit monitoring operation, and provides a number of real-time services that only such a closely-integrated company could.

The centerpiece of ID Patrol’s service is access to your personal Equifax credit file. With this plan you have the ability to lock and unlock this file quickly online, opening it for a short time and then closing it again to deny further access. You can also unlock your credit file for specific companies, in case you are making a big purchase and need your information to be available to your lender. When your credit report is locked, no third parties are permitted to view it, thus denying the ability of identity thieves to open credit accounts in your name.

This type of report lock is perhaps the best form of identity protection, in that absolutely no one will open a credit line in your name without looking at your credit report. In terms of other protections and services, however, ID Patrol does not move very far in protecting your identity in any contexts other than the financial. Public record monitoring, sex offender monitoring, mail list removal, financial and identity protection education—ID Patrol doesn’t offer any of these services, although Equifax does offer debt reduction advisory services under its Debt Wise program.

The main feature of the plan—the ability to lock your credit report—is also available without it. Every consumer has the right to freeze their own credit report, though credit freeze laws vary from state to state. In most locations, however, you can do exactly what ID Patrol can do on your own, in many cases for free (particularly if you’ve already been the victim of identity theft). As ID Patrol runs $14.95 per month—the same as many other monthly plans that offer many more services—its offerings appear somewhat light versus its competition.

However, the fact is that any identity protection service offered by the big three credit bureaus will provide access to information that most credit protection companies will have trouble matching. ID Patrol, with its total access to Equifax credit information and real-time ability to block customer credit files, performs these limited functions very well, and provides its customers with real protection for their financial identities.