This article is brought to you by Aura.
Watch the video to see how we protect you online.
This article is brought to you by Aura. Watch the video to see how we protect you online.
Start Free Trial
4.7 stars on Trustpilot
Close Button
What is Aura? (1:10)

Discover Identity Theft Protection Review: Is It Worth It?

Learn how Discover Identity Theft Protection compares to other identity theft protection services including LifeLock and Aura.

Learn how Discover Identity Theft Protection compares to other identity theft protection services including LifeLock and Aura.

An illustration of the Discover logo on a credit card

Aura’s app keeps you safe from scams, fraud, and identity theft. Try Aura for free.

4.6 stars as of Sept. 2024

In this article:

    In this article:

      See more

      Aura’s digital security app keeps your family safe from scams, fraud, and identity theft.

      See pricing
      Share this:

      Should You Get Discover Identity Theft Protection?

      Discover Identity Theft Protection is a paid service launched in 2021 that provides identity monitoring, insurance, and fraud remediation assistance to Discover card holders.

      At a high level, Discover® Identity Theft Protection includes:

      • Credit, bank account, and identity monitoring. Discover offers three-bureau credit monitoring, new bank account, credit limit, and utilization alerts, and basic monitoring of your personal information across the Dark Web, criminal records, and more.
      • Identity theft insurance. Discover provides the industry-standard of up to $1,000,000 in insurance coverage for eligible losses due to identity theft. This can include legal expenses, reimbursement of stolen funds, lost wages, and other expenses.
      • Fraud remediation assistance. If the worst should happen, Discover will assign a case number and a U.S.-based fraud specialist to help you resolve the fraudulent activity. Phone support is only available 7:00 am to 9:00 pm CT Monday through Saturday, and 8:00 am to 8:00 pm CT Sunday.
      • Child identity theft protection. Discover also includes protection for up to 10 children on each account. This includes Dark Web alerts to monitor for your child’s leaked Social Security number (SSN), Experian alerts if someone is trying to open credit accounts in your child’s name, and coverage from its identity theft insurance and remediation services.

      Additionally, every Discover card is protected by additional security measures, such as daily scans of your Experian credit file — to alert you to suspicious activity, such as new credit accounts, changes to your credit history, or unfamiliar new credit inquiries — as well as regular Dark Web scans to search data breaches and hacker forums for sensitive information, such as your SSN.

      Discover card members can also check their FICO credit score whenever they want from their online account — giving you a quick warning signal if scammers are trying to damage your credit.

      While it offers a decent level of protection, Discover is lacking in a few key areas that could leave you vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.

      Pros
      Cons
      3-bureau credit monitoring comes standard. Discover monitors all three credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion — and alerts you to changes on your credit file. However, you’ll only receive a single Experian credit report when you enroll.
      Limited monitoring. Discover monitors a limited amount of personal information compared to other services. For example, it doesn’t include home title or social media account monitoring.
      Children are included with each plan. Each plan includes limited monitoring and coverage for up to 10 children.
      No proactive protection. Unlike many other services, Discover doesn’t include a credit lock or digital security tools to protect you against hacking, scams, and data leaks.
      U.S.-based Fraud Resolution Specialists. If the worst should happen, you’ll get support from a team of U.S.-based support specialists. Unfortunately, Discover doesn’t offer 24/7 support like other services.
      More expensive than some options. At $15/month per user, Discover is slightly more expensive than other identity theft protection services.
      No public data on alert speed or reliability. Discover doesn’t have any publicly-available information about how fast or reliable its alerts are.
      Must be a Discover customer to enroll. Discover Identity Theft Protection is only available to current and new customers.

      Discover Identity Theft Protection’s biggest downside is that it doesn’t provide all-in-one protection. Instead of helping to protect your data and identity, Discover focuses almost exclusively on monitoring, alerts, and remediation.

      Discover Identity Theft Protection Pricing

      Discover Identity Theft Protection costs $15/month per user. This means if you want to protect yourself and a spouse or elderly family member, each person will have to pay $15/month. This can add up quickly if you’re looking to protect more than just yourself.

      For comparison, Aura’s family plan covers 5 adults (in different households) and unlimited children under the age of 18 for $20/month on an annual plan.

      # of people on plan
      Discover
      Aura
      1
      $15/month
      $6/month – use this link
      2
      $30/month
      $11.49/month – use this link
      3+
      $45+/month
      $20/month (for up to 5 adults) – use this link
      🤔 Ready to save on award-winning protection? Aura gives you better and more comprehensive protection at a more affordable price. Try Aura free for 14 days.

      Who Is Discover Identity Theft Protection For?

      • Discover customers who want basic identity theft protection. If you’re already a Discover customer, you could benefit for increased identity theft protection. Although, be aware that you’ll still be paying more for a less comprehensive service.
      • Families with lots of children. Discover covers up to 10 children with SSN and Dark Web monitoring as well as identity theft insurance and support. Most other identity theft protection services charge for children or limit the number who can be covered under one plan. However, beware that Discover doesn’t include parental controls or other family-centric safety features.
      • People not concerned about hacking, scams, or data leaks. Discover doesn’t include anything in the way of proactive protection — such as antivirus software, a virtual private network (VPN), Safe Browsing tools, or scam protection.

      Discover Identity Theft Protection vs. LifeLock vs. Aura

      The main difference between Discover Identity Theft Protection and services like LifeLock and Aura is that Discover doesn’t offer any proactive protection against identity theft, fraud, or hacking.

      While no service can claim to completely protect you against identity theft, most modern tools include digital security and scam protection solutions to keep your data, identity, and money safe.

      For example, Aura includes:

      • A full suite of digital security tools. Every Aura plan includes access to powerful antivirus software, a virtual private network (VPN), secure password manager, a digital vault to store and securely share your sensitive info and files, Privacy Assistant, and more ways to stop hackers from accessing your devices and data.
      • AI-powered phone and text scam protection. Aura uses artificial intelligence (AI) to screen incoming calls and texts for scams — making sure you only receive legitimate calls.
      • Safe Browsing and phishing protection. Aura will warn you if you’re clicking on a malicious link and block fake or dangerous websites before they can do damage.
      • One-click credit lock. Instantly lock and unlock your Experian credit file with a single click in your mobile app to prevent scammers from opening new accounts or taking out loans in your name.
      • The industry’s fastest fraud alerts. A 2022 mystery shopper survey found that Aura’s credit monitoring service provided more reliable fraud alerts that were up to 250x faster than the competition3.
      Discover
      Aura
      Price
      $15/month per user.
      Starts at $6/month for individuals.
      Free trial
      None.
      14-day free trial and 60-day money-back guarantee on all annual plans.
      Identity monitoring
      Basic monitoring across the Dark Web and some public records.
      Rated #1 by Money.com, USNews.com, TechRadar, Forbes, and more.
      Credit monitoring
      Three-bureau credit monitoring.
      Three-bureau credit monitoring with the industry’s fastest and most reliable fraud alerts.
      Insurance coverage
      Up to $1 million.
      Up to $5 million (on family plans).
      Digital security
      None.
      Comprehensive digital security, including antivirus, VPN, password manager, Safe Browsing, AI scam protection, and more.
      Family protection
      Protects up to 10 children.
      Protects unlimited children (on family plans).
      Parental controls
      None.
      Parental controls include content blocking, app and device time limits, Pause the internet®, and more.
      Customer support
      U.S.-based fraud remediation specialists available during limited hours.
      24/7 White Glove Fraud Resolution Specialists.
      Ratings
      No rating on third-party review sites.
      4.7 stars on Trustpilot

      Identity monitoring and alerts

      At their core, identity theft protection services monitor your personally identifiable information (PII) and alert you if its been compromised, published, or used without your permission.

      While Discover, Aura, and LifeLock all offer identity monitoring, they differ in what information they monitor, where they track it, and how quickly they alert you.

      Discover
      LifeLock
      Aura
      Basic identity monitoring with no information about fraud alert speed.
      More advanced monitoring — depending on which plan you choose. No data on fraud alert speed.
      Provides the most comprehensive monitoring across all plans. Fraud alerts that are up to 250x faster than the competition. Includes Dark Web monitoring.
      Includes Dark Web monitoring.
      Includes Dark Web monitoring.
      Includes Dark Web monitoring.
      No home title or social media monitoring.
      Home title monitoring only on the more expensive Ultimate Plus plan.
      Home title and social media monitoring on all plans.

      Credit and bank account monitoring

      All three services monitor your credit file at the major credit bureaus as well as your bank and other accounts with financial institutions for signs of fraud.

      For example, you should get a notification if someone uses your stolen debit card information to make a large purchase or tries to take out a Payday loan in your name.

      Discover
      LifeLock
      Aura
      Three-bureau credit monitoring.
      Three-bureau credit monitoring only on the more expensive Ultimate Plus plan.
      Three-bureau credit monitoring on all plans.
      No data on fraud alert speed or reliability.
      No data on fraud alert speed or reliability.
      The industry’s fastest and most reliable fraud alerts — up to 250x faster than other services.
      No credit lock included.
      “Identity Lock” to lock your TransUnion credit file.
      One-click Experian credit lock.
      Single Experian credit report when you enroll. Credit report “snapshots” are available monthly.
      Annual three-bureau credit reports. Daily one-bureau credit score and report updates.
      Monthly and annual 3-bureau credit reports. Monthly credit score using VantageScore 3.0.
      Monitors your information across a national network of over 50 financial institutions and lenders.
      Bank and investment account number monitoring and alerts.
      Bank and investment account monitoring with transaction threshold alerts (credit and debit cards, bank account, investment and retirement accounts).

      Digital security

      Digital and online security features like VPNs or antivirus software are designed to keep your online activity private and your personal information safe from hackers and identity thieves. However, not all identity theft protection services offer these features.

      Discover
      LifeLock
      Aura
      No digital security features.
      Digital security features available with Norton 360 add-on (for an extra monthly fee).
      Every plan includes critical digital security tools, including:
      • Antivirus software
      • Military-grade VPN
      • Secure password manager
      • Safe Browsing and phishing protection
      • Online Privacy Assistant
      AI-powered spam and scam call and text protection available on family plans (or for a small monthly upgrade on individual and couples plans).
      🥇 Don’t settle for second-best protection. Aura includes comprehensive identity theft, fraud, and hacking protection on every account. Try Aura free for 14 days and get award-winning protection for you and your family.

      Family protection

      Identity theft doesn’t just impact adults. In fact, every year identity theft impacts one in every 50 American children [*]. To keep your kids safe online takes more than just monitoring their SSN. That’s why Aura includes parental controls with their family plans.

      Discover
      LifeLock
      Aura
      Covers up to 10 children with Dark Web, SSN, and bank account monitoring.
      Identity and SSN monitoring for up to 10 children on a family plan.
      Child SSN and Dark Web monitoring as well as credit freeze, family fraud alerts, and more for unlimited children (on family plan).

      Identity theft insurance

      Most insurance policies cover similar losses — such as lost wages, notary fees, child and elderly care, legal fees, and other relevant expenses.

      Discover
      LifeLock
      Aura
      Industry standard $1 million coverage.
      Coverage depends on plan level — from $1,050,000 to $3,000,000 total.
      $1 million for every adult member on your plan (up to $5 million for family plans).

      Customer support

      Discover
      LifeLock
      Aura
      U.S.-based fraud resolution specialists — available limited hours during the week.
      “Priority member support” only available on the more expensive Ultimate Plus plan.
      24/7 U.S.-based Fraud Resolution Specialists on all plans.

      Cost

      Discover
      LifeLock
      Aura
      $15/month per adult user.
      Ultimate Plus plan starts at $19.99/month (renews at ~$28/month).
      Starts at $6/month for individual plans — using this discount link.
      🛡 Save up to 75% on Aura’s award-winning protection. Get the best deal on Aura’s comprehensive protection plans using this special discount link.

      How To Cancel Discover Identity Theft Protection

      Discover Identity Theft Protection is billed monthly, which means that you can cancel at any time and not be charged for future months. You’ll also receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of your monthly charge.

      Here’s how to cancel Discover Identity Theft Protection:

      • Call customer support at 1-800-347-3089 and ask to cancel your services.
      • Log in to your Account Center and cancel your services.

      Once you cancel, you’ll no longer be charged for protection. However, according to Discover’s privacy statement, they may still share your personal information for marketing and “everyday business” purposes [*]. To ask about Discover’s data collection and sharing policies, you can contact them at 1-800-347-7552.

      While Discover Identity Theft Protection is a viable ID theft monitoring service, it has gaps in its proactive protection and fraud remediation assistance. For more comprehensive ID theft protection (without complicated pricing plans and sky-high renewal costs), consider signing up for Aura.

      Ready to try Aura for yourself? Sign up for a free 14-day trial of Aura

      Editorial note: Our articles provide educational information for you to increase awareness about digital safety. Aura’s services may not provide the exact features we write about, nor may cover or protect against every type of crime, fraud, or threat discussed in our articles. Please review our Terms during enrollment or setup for more information. Remember that no one can prevent all identity theft or cybercrime.

      Is this article helpful so far?
      Yes
      No
      Skip
      Need an action plan?

      No items found.
      Is your child ready for a cell phone? Take this quiz to find out.
      Start Quiz

      Award-winning identity theft protection with AI-powered digital security tools, 24/7 White Glove support, and more. Try Aura for free.

      Related Articles

      Illustration of a piece of ID with a shield and checkmark in place of a photograph
      Identity Theft

      Is Identity Theft Protection Worth It in 2024? Only in These Cases

      Identity theft protection services aren’t right for everyone. But if you’re a prior victim or have family members to protect, it could make sense for you.

      Read More
      August 28, 2024
      How much does identity theft protection cost: Header image
      Identity Theft

      Identity Theft Protection Costs Explained + Top Services

      Identity protection tools focus on monitoring, alerts, and recovery services. But how much does identity protection cost? Which tool is best for you?

      Read More
      July 6, 2023

      Try Aura—14 Days Free

      Start your free trial today**