Discover Identity Theft Protection Review [2024]: Is it Worth Adding to Your Discover Card?

We recommend Discover’s identity theft protection if you’re an existing cardholder looking for an identity theft solution. It covers the basics, including up to $1 million in identity theft insurance coverage and the ability to add coverage for up to 10 children.

That said, it is lacking in some important areas compared to some competitors, such as social media, home title monitoring, and more.

Learn whether Discover’s identity theft protection is right for you and your family.

Key takeaways

• Discover offers affordable identity theft insurance coverage at only $15 per month.
• It doesn’t charge more for children, and you can add up to 10.
• If you want to add a second adult, it’s another $15 per month.
• It also has three-bureau credit monitoring.

Discover Identity Theft Protection: Is it worth it?

What is Discover Identity Theft Protection?

Let’s take a closer look at Discover’s identity theft protection.

Identity theft insurance

Discover’s identity theft insurance offers reimbursement of up to $1 million with a $0 deductible for expenses related to identity theft recovery. This includes:

• Up to $1,500 per week for up to five weeks for lost wages.
• $1,000 for travel expenses.
• $2,000 for elder, spousal, or child care.
• $1,000 for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) costs.

Other things covered under this policy include:

• Costs associated with applying for loans, grants, or other credit or debit purchases that were rejected due to a stolen identity.
• Costs for notarizing documents related to identity theft.
• Costs for ordering medical records.
• Investigative agency or private investigator costs associated with updating records that are inaccurate due to a stolen identity.
• Legal fees and attorney fees for any legal action brought against you by a creditor or collection agency.

Credit monitoring

Discover monitors credit every day at all three credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. It issues alerts for activities like:

• New inquiries
• Address changes
• New negative information like delinquencies
• New public bankruptcy records
• New accounts opened in your name.

It also issues alerts based on Experian’s information. These include positive activity alerts that let you know information like a loan being paid off.

Identity monitoring

Discover’s monitoring features are extensive. They include:

• Dark web monitoring: This service lets you know if your information is found on any risk websites on the dark web.
• Social Security number identity monitoring: You’ll get a report of all the names, aliases, and addresses associated with the Social Security number you have on file.
• Bank account monitoring: This service lets you know if your name and Social Security number have been used to apply for a new bank or credit card account or make account changes with one of the banks in Discover’s monitoring network.
• Address monitoring: You get an alert if the address you have on file with the U.S. Postal Service changes.
• Criminal court record monitoring: You get an alert if your name shows up in one of the court systems that Discover is monitoring.

These apply to adults over the age of 18.

Child identity protection

Discover allows an adult to enroll up to 10 children under the age of 18 for no additional cost. Discover monitors the dark web for your child’s Social Security number, Medical ID number, phone number, email address, one credit or debit card, and one bank account.

Children under your policy are included in your $1 million identity theft insurance coverage.

Children also get fraud resolution assistance, where you can be assigned a case number and a fraud resolution specialist who assists you and attempts to resolve fraudulent activity. This includes closing fraudulent accounts and removing fraudulent activity from your child’s credit report.

How to get started with Discover Identity Theft Protection

Signing up for Discover’s identity theft protection is easy, but note that you must be an existing Discover cardholder to use this service.

1. Head to Discover’s identity theft protection website.
2. Click the orange Enroll Now button in the center of the page.
3. Sign in using the username and password associated with your account.
4. Follow the instructions to finish setting up your account.

Alternatives to Discover Identity Theft Protection: LifeLock and Aura

If you don’t have a Discover credit card or are looking for more extensive coverage, other identity theft protection companies might be a better fit for you. Aura and LifeLock are two alternatives that offer different types of coverage than Discover.

LifeLock by Norton offers identity theft protection services with a ton of flexibility in packages and price points, depending on your and your family’s needs. Lifelock offers a ton of ways to protect your identity, including social media monitoring, home title monitoring, dark web monitoring, and more.

Aura is another alternative that offers identity theft protection services, including home title monitoring, credit locks, and credit scores. It offers flexible packages that cater to individuals, couples, or families.

FAQs about Discover identity theft protection

Discover Identity Theft Protection review: bottom line

Overall, Discover’s identity theft protection is a good choice for Discover customers who want identity theft protection and want the convenience of having their credit card and protection all in one place. However, those who don’t have a Discover card or are looking for more extensive coverage may find other coverage to be a better fit.

If Discover’s identity theft protection sounds good, but you’re not a Discover customer, check out these Discover credit cards.

Up To 5% Cash Back

Discover it^® Cash Back

4.7

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Discover it^® Cash Back

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Rates and fees

Current Offer

Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year.

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• $0 annual fee
• Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
• Dark web monitoring and other privacy protection services

Drawbacks

• Requires you to activate the highest-earning category each quarter
• Not accepted as widely overseas as Visa or Mastercard

Card Details

• INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers–only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300.
• Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Redeem your rewards for cash at any time.
• Apply and you could get a decision in as little as 60 seconds. No annual fee.
• Start shopping and earning rewards in minutes with our digital card, before your physical card arrives in the mail, if eligible.
• Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It’s free, activate with the mobile app.
• Get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 18.49% to 27.49% Standard Variable Purchase APR applies, based on credit worthiness. Rates as of December 12, 2024.
• Terms and conditions apply.