McAfee Identity Theft Protection Review 2024: Can McAfee Shield You From An Identity Crisis?

McAfee Identity Theft Protection is an affordable service that's priced competitively, especially considering you get additional security features like antivirus, a VPN, and a password manager. We like the simple design and user-friendly dashboard but were surprised that it has limited family coverage and basic monitoring.

In our McAfee Identity Theft Protection review, we'll talk about its features, prices, and how it can help you and your family stay protected against identity theft and fraud. We compare McAfee to some of the best identity theft protection services and discuss its merits and what could be improved. 

Pros and cons

Review at a glance

Price	$4.16-$20.83/mo
Identity theft insurance	Up to $2 million
Number of people covered	Up to 2 adults and 4 children
Types of identity monitoring	SSN, financial, credit, dark web, social media
Credit monitoring	Yes
Credit reports	Yes — Experian, TransUnion, Equifax
Credit score	Yes
Identity restoration services	Yes
Extras	Antivirus, VPN, password manager, ransomware reimbursement, 1:1 phone call with account management setup
24/7 Customer Support	Yes
Details	Get McAfee Identity Theft Protection

Our experience

There are no free trials for McAfee Identity Theft Protection’s Advanced and Ultimate plans. We were able to test its basic identity protection features only by signing up for a free trial of McAfee Total Protection. We did this by clicking on our free trial offer and creating an account with McAfee using an email address and password. It was a relatively easy and quick process to set up.

When we accessed the McAfee dashboard, we were able to add any information we wanted to monitor, view our Protection Score, and see alerts if any of our monitored information had been compromised or leaked online.

We ran into some issues with our ad blocker and using some of the features, including credit monitoring, and no matter what we did, we couldn't get it to work. We ended up switching from Safari to a Google Chrome browser without ad blockers to use the service. Once we opened McAfee in a browser without ad blockers, we had no issue setting up the service.

Ultimately, we thought that McAfee was a good product. It does lack some things like registered offender maps and home title monitoring, but it also has a lower price than a lot of competitors. If those features aren't as important to you, this may be a good pick.

Who is it best for?

• We recommend McAfee Identity Theft Protection for individuals or families looking for identity theft protection bundled with award-winning security features. 
  

McAfee Identity Theft Protection is a low-maintenance option for individuals and families that also includes McAfee's award-winning antivirus, VPN, and password manager. While the individual and family features aren't as robust as competitors, you still get identity theft protection wrapped in a security bundle. 

Features

Credit monitoring is a crucial part of McAfee’s security package, but it’s available only in the Advanced and Ultimate plans. You can monitor your financial account changes, review your credit scores, and receive credit reports from all three bureaus. McAfee also alerts you to suspicious activity, like when your personal information has been compromised in a data breach or leaked on the dark web.

We especially appreciated that it offers identity theft insurance with up to $1 million in coverage, which can help you and your family recover from any potential identity theft losses. Furthermore, it offers lost wallet protection as well as identity restoration experts, should your identity or your family’s identity become compromised.

What does it protect against?

McAfee Identity Theft Protection can help monitor and defend against the following common identity theft scenarios:

• Theft of personally identifiable information (PII)
• Child identity theft
• Credit card theft
• Email hijacking
• Tax refund fraud
• Healthcare insurance theft
• False utility accounts opened in your name

McAfee also provides monitoring for the following scenarios:

• Sex offender monitoring
• Court and criminal record monitoring
• Financial account takeover monitoring
• Change of address alerts

With McAfee Identity Theft Protection in your corner, these threats can be monitored and mitigated. All plans even come with $1 million in identity theft insurance, which includes identity theft recovery solutions.

Identity Monitoring

In the McAfee dashboard, you can select Identity Monitoring and add the personal information you want to monitor. McAfee will keep track of any information you want to monitor, whether it is financial information like your credit cards, bank accounts, tax ID, or other identification methods. This includes your credit information for credit score monitoring.

Keep in mind that credit monitoring features are available only in McAfee’s Advanced and Ultimate plans. With Advanced, you can choose one credit bureau to monitor your credit with, while Ultimate plans let you monitor your credit with Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Moreover, McAfee also has an ID theft protection and security solution that is advertised as a separate service called Total Protection, which offers identical features to Identity Theft Protection’s Advanced plan.

Proactive monitoring is a standout feature of McAfee's identity protection services. After you add the information you wish to monitor, the service stays on guard and detects if your PII has been leaked or compromised online. If your PII has been leaked, you'll promptly receive alerts in your main Identity Protection dashboard. Alternatively, you can get notifications via email and SMS.

What's even better is that proactive monitoring doesn't just inform you about breaches. You're also provided with options to resolve these breaches so you can regain control of your PII.

Credit monitoring

You can activate credit monitoring through the main portal, but we recommend using a browser without an ad blocker as we ran into issues. When you set up credit monitoring, you'll be prompted to add a lot of personal information, including your social security number. This is necessary to monitor your credit and also normal practice for this type of protection.

Credit reports and scores

Keeping an eye on your credit reports and scores is essential to ensure your finances are in order and to keep an eye out for any signs of identity theft. McAfee lets you stay on top of your credit by monitoring it and providing daily reports with the Ultimate plan or monthly reports with the Advanced plan. As mentioned in the previous section, you can get these reports from one or all three major credit bureaus, depending on your plan.

Alerts

McAfee’s Cyber Monitoring feature stays on guard and alerts you when your personal information has been compromised in a data breach, leaked on the dark web, or other unusual activity. For example, McAfee could send you an email with the subject line, “Your info was stolen,” or worse, “Your info was found on the dark web.”

Notification alerts can be sent to you via your McAfee dashboard, email, and/or SMS text whenever suspicious activity occurs, or new accounts are created without your knowledge. Here is the information that McAfee’s Cyber Monitoring feature monitors for:

• Social Security number (SSN)
• Email addresses
• Driver’s license number
• Passport number
• Medical ID numbers
• Credit or debit card numbers
• Bank account number
• International bank account number
• Store/membership card number

McAfee also comes with the SSN Trace service, which helps prevent child identity theft. SSN Trace can monitor and report fraudulent names, aliases, and addresses associated with a child’s monitored SSN. It checks all 50 states, as well as various records like property and recorder of deed registration, county assessor data, bankruptcies, liens, and more.

Identity restoration services

McAfee promises 24/7 identity monitoring to help avoid an identity theft situation. If you do end up becoming a victim of identity theft, McAfee also guarantees hands-on assistance in restoring it.

The language surrounding McAfee's identity restoration services isn't as robust as some competitors. Other services detail how they handle remediation, but McAfee's details are sparse, mentioning only that you'll receive assistance from a professional. 

Bonus features

Here is a list of bonus features that are offered with McAfee’s Advanced and Ultimate plans:

• Online account cleanup: Scans and/or removes personal info from old online accounts.
• Personal data cleanup: This feature scans high-risk data broker sites for your personal info and requests for its removal.
• Virtual private network: McAfee's VPN can establish a secure connection between your device and the internet, encrypt your data, and hide your browsing activities.

Take a look at the additional security features that are included as well:

• File shredder: Helps you protect your privacy by permanently deleting files that contain sensitive information.
• Web protection: WebAdvisor is a browser extension that allows you to browse the internet while protecting you from phishing, scams, and cyber threats.
• Firewall: Allows you to block malicious hackers from accessing your home network, and control what information your device sends and receives from a network.
• Password manager: This feature lets you securely store and manage your passwords in a single location.
• Lost wallet remediation: McAfee’s identity theft experts will help you cancel and replace your lost or stolen IDs, credit cards, and debit cards.
• Protection Score: This feature lets you see how safe you are online and gives tips to strengthen your weak spots to boost your score.

The popular McAfee antivirus also comes with identity theft protection, providing security not just for your identity but also for your devices against viruses, malware, and other cyber threats.

Does it keep your data safe?

Based on McAfee’s Privacy Notice, here are some key takeaways related to McAfee Identity Theft Protection and data safety. Some of these mentioned are related to data collection, data sharing, data protection, and more:

• McAfee collects a variety of personal data, like data from the usage of its services, purchase information, device information, and data shared voluntarily by users. This information is primarily used to provide and improve services.
• McAfee may share personal data with its family of companies, service providers, and legal authorities during business transfers or when you give consent or direct it to do so. They could even share data in case of business transactions like mergers and acquisitions.
• McAfee protects personal data by implementing administrative, organizational, technical, and physical safeguards.
• Users have control over their data and can access, correct, and delete their personal data. They can also restrict McAfee’s processing of their personal data and object to it.
• McAfee retains personal data as long as necessary for its legitimate business purposes, to comply with legal obligations, and to provide the requested services.
• You can enable two-factor authentication (2FA) in your McAfee account to add an extra layer of security.

While McAfee implements security measures to protect personal data, it does share your data with a myriad of entities. Sharing this data can potentially expose your personal info to third parties, even though McAfee insists on its data protection measures being followed by the parties it shares information with.

Always carefully review a privacy policy and make an informed decision based on your comfort with it. Keep in mind that all services have potential risks, and none can guarantee complete protection against all forms of security threats.

Compatibility

McAfee Identity Theft Protection services are available on popular platforms like Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS. There is no free download available, as it is available only for purchase under a Premium, Advanced, or Ultimate plan.

Customer support

McAfee offers 24/7 live chat support for all plans, a knowledge center with helpful videos and online guides, a blog, and a community support forum where consumers can ask questions and get answers.

Prices and subscriptions

With McAfee Identity Theft Protection, plans are available for individuals or families with children. The Advanced Individual plan, priced at $7.49/mo (billed annually) for the first year, is perfect for single users, offering credit monitoring, identity recovery, and more.

If you're up for more comprehensive coverage, the Ultimate Individual plan, priced at $16.66/mo (billed annually) for the first year, comes with the added benefits of credit reports from all three bureaus, credit lock and freeze, and a hefty $25,000 in ransomware coverage.

Family plans cover two adults and four children. The Advanced Family plan is $9.99/mo (billed annually) for the first year, and the Ultimate Family plan is $20.83/mo (billed annually) for the first year. The Ultimate Family offers features like comprehensive credit reporting and ransomware coverage. While pricey, its extensive features make it a worthy investment to protect your family from identity theft and fraud.

Plans comparison

Plan	Advanced Individual	Ultimate Individual	Advanced Family	Ultimate Family
Who’s covered	1 adult	1 adult	2 adults, 4 children	2 adults, 4 children
Identity theft insurance	Up to $1 million	Up to $1 million	Up to $2 million	Up to $1 million
Ransomware coverage	None	Up to $25,000	None	Up to $25,000
Credit monitoring
Financial activity alerts
Credit reports	Yes — 1 bureau	Yes — 3 bureaus	Yes — 1 bureau	Yes — 3 bureaus
VantageScore
Credit lock
Identity restoration services
Dark web alerts
Social media account alerts
Social Security number monitoring
USPS address change alerts

Top alternatives

FAQs

Bottom line: Is McAfee Identity Theft Protection good?

After evaluating McAfee Identity Theft Protection, we think it is a viable option for comprehensive protection against identity theft, which can be a costly experience for individuals or families. Its extensive coverage of up to $2 million in identity theft insurance is a significant safety net that complements its various features, such as credit monitoring and identity recovery support.

On the flip side, McAfee's service comes without a free trial, and its cost is a bit higher compared to some competitors. The absence of a FICO score and home title monitoring might also be a turn-off for some. Yet, if you're okay with stretching your budget slightly for peace of mind, McAfee's reputation and extensive protections make it a worthwhile option for securing your personal and financial information in our digital age.

Continue reading about how you can protect yourself and your family from identity theft and credit card fraud in our identity theft protection and credit monitoring guide.