Equifax is one of the three major credit bureaus (along with Experian and TransUnion) and offers an additional identity protection service, ID Patrol. The service is comparable to others in many regards, but ID Patrol also offers an additional advantage of carrying a trusted name with special access to your credit history. Equifax ID Patrol is a fine product issued under a reputable name.

They have been in the credit business since 1899, making them the longest established company we reviewed, by far. Their ID Patrol service however, is one of the newest services we reviewed, and has received some bad consumer reviews compared to other services.

ID Patrol by Equifax is a secure system with several solid features. Not only will they place fraud alerts on your account to help prevent a security breach, they also provide online fraud monitoring to detect if your social security or credit card numbers are being shared online. For an additional fee, Equifax will freeze your credit and contact the other credit bureaus if you need a temporary shut-down.

Equifax offers recovery assistance should your identity ever be stolen. They have a trained security and recovery team that will dedicate their assistance to help you work through the difficult process of restoring your credit and identity. Equifax offers $20,000 in insurance through their Identity Fraud Expense Reimbursement Master Policy, which is underwritten by Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America.

They, being a major credit bureau themselves, have complete access to your credit history. Not only will they send you a yearly 3-in-1 credit report so you can compare between the credit bureaus, Equifax also gives you access to unlimited credit reports from their individual agency.

Equifax has phone support available all day, every day. After you apply for membership, you also will have exclusive access to their online member center.

Equifax ID Patrol is mostly concerned with protecting your credit, but also protects your full name, social security number and address.