PrivacyGuard Review

Introduction

PrivacyGuard is advertised as “One-stop shopping for personal information”. Its parent company is Affinion Group (formerly: Trilegiant) which offers an identity theft protection and credit monitoring suite as well as data breach solutions. This is a function of its Affinion Security Center which was established in 2008 and supported by the acquisition of CardCops in 2007. CardCops is a technology company that monitors public records and foreign “underground” cyber-theft chat rooms. These chat rooms facilitate the buying and selling of sensitive personal financial information for the purposes of identity theft. Affinion has, in the past, been instrumental in facilitating the discovery of large scale data breaches.

Credit Reports

Subscribers may order a combined credit report from the three reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). This can save the subscriber approximately $27 when ordering these reports directly. The report that you will receive will indicate which credit cards are reported to their corresponding agency. This can be useful if one of the reporting agencies is showing a negative entry. It is also useful since not all credit reporting agencies will show the same credit card entries. This is also true of other creditors who may report to only one or two of the reporting agencies.

You need to be aware that American Express may report line numbers that differ from your actual credit card number. Acquired banks can also report different bank names to the different reporting agencies. When this happens, PrivacyGuard may not be able to correctly align the credit cards with the reporting agencies. A credit score from Experian is also reported.

You can order your own report though Privacy Guard’s website. However, if you wish to order your spouse’s report, you may do so through the introductory packet form or by mailing the form that you can print from their website. This will constitute a total savings of $54 as opposed to sending for these reports directly from the reporting agencies.

Credit Alert Service

With the Credit Alert Service, you will have a monthly Experian Scorex PLUS credit score sent to you. You will also have the ability to set up credit score alerts that are tailored to your credit usage. This way, you will be able to track specified milestones or other changes that may prevent credit fraud. There is also a quarterly newsletter that will be sent out.

Credit Dispute Assistance

PrivacyGuard will provide assistance with disputing items that are considered inaccurate. This can ensure that your credit report is up-to-date. The credit hotline can also help with explanations of items on a subscriber’s credit report. This can also assist with disputes.

Credit Card Registration

Subscribers are allowed to register up to 10 credit cards (or other type of payment cards such as debit cards, gas cards, etc.). This can be used to recall those card numbers in case of loss or theft. Privacy Guard’s lost or stolen assistance will then contact the necessary financial institutions in order to have cards cancelled and then replaced. This is done through their toll-free card registry hotline.

Social Security Number Monitoring

PrivacyGuard will monitor activity involving your Social Security number. This can prevent fraudulent activity such as the sale of personal information on illegal websites.

Financial Calculator Tools

PrivacyGuard provides a suite of financial calculator software tools that can assist you in managing your finances and achieving credit report milestones.

Online Identity Protection

PrivacyGuard also features Norton Internet Security Online software. This will afford realtime protection against spam, malware and other forms of malicious software attacks. This is especially useful for those who shop online and may be at risk for financial information compromise.

Pricing and Cancellations

Trilegiant offers a $1 trial period of one month when you sign up. Afterwards, the cost is $14.99 per month for membership. If you wish to cancel, you can call their toll-free number at 1-800-374-8273, send them an email at: emailservice@PrivacyGuard.com or use the cancel button located on their website. Once cancelled, the subscriber will no longer be billed for monthly charges. The Credit Report may be kept free of charge.