The last shopping rush before Christmas is a great time for cybercriminals because there are so many online transactions, quick purchases, and distracted shoppers. NordProtect’s decision to lower the price of its identity protection service to a record low of $4.49 per month, down from its usual $14.99 rate, is especially important this time of year, when prices are usually lower.
This isn’t just another holiday sale on electronics or entertainment subscriptions that people don’t care about: Identity theft protection deals with a basic security issue that gets worse around the holidays, when fake transactions blend in more easily with real spending patterns and stolen credentials are more actively traded on criminal networks.
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The Scale of the Problem
Think about how bad identity theft is in the United States right now. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers lost $12.5 billion to fraud last year alone. This is a 25% increase from the year before. In 2024, the agency handled more than 1.1 million identity theft complaints. This means that a new victim came forward every 22 seconds throughout the year.
Identity Theft by the Numbers
- Every 22 seconds: A new identity theft case occurs in the United States
- 1.1 million: Identity theft complaints filed with the FTC in 2024
- $12.5 billion: Total consumer losses to fraud in the past year
- 44%: Percentage of identity theft cases involving credit card fraud
These risks are even higher during the holidays: More people shopping online means more chances for data theft, and when there are a lot of legitimate transactions, it’s harder to spot fake charges right away. Phishing attempts that look like shipping notifications or seasonal sales alerts are on the rise, and retailers and payment processors are at greater risk of breaches because their infrastructure is under stress and they have to hire temporary workers.
How Protection Really Works
Instead of checking identities by hand every so often, NordProtect uses continuous automated surveillance. You can read Gizmodo’s review here to learn more about it. NordProtect checks credit reports from all three major bureaus, looks for personal information on dark web marketplaces, and keeps an eye on linked financial accounts for strange activity.
The part that watches the dark web is especially important: There are parts of the internet (dark web) where stolen Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and full identity packages are traded. When your information shows up in these places, it usually means that there has been a security breach in one of the services you use. Early detection is important because it gives you time to lock down accounts before criminals can use the information.
TransUnion’s credit monitoring service can catch things like new loan applications, account openings, or changes to your credit limit that you didn’t authorize. The system marks these events right away instead of waiting for monthly reviews of credit reports. When you monitor your bank account, you can spot strange withdrawal patterns, suspicious transfer requests, or debit card use that isn’t safe.
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The value proposition goes beyond just alerts: NordProtect gives you specific instructions on what to do when it finds a problem. If your email is part of a data breach, you will be told which accounts need new passwords, which security questions need to be changed, and whether or not two-factor authentication should be turned on. The service explains how to dispute charges that are not real and how to freeze your credit if they do.
Financial Protection That Goes Beyond Monitoring
Most people don’t realize how much it costs to recover from identity theft until they have to deal with it directly. For example, hiring a lawyer to fight fraudulent accounts can cost hundreds of dollars per hour. If you have to take time off work to deal with banks, creditors, and credit bureaus, you will lose money. And the costs of traveling to meet with law enforcement or financial institutions in person add up.
NordProtect covers up to $1 million in identity theft recovery costs, including legal fees, lost wages, and documented costs related to restoring your identity and credit score.
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Extra parts of insurance cover certain types of threats that aren’t usually covered by identity theft: Cyber extortion coverage pays up to $50,000 for cases of blackmail or ransom demands. Online fraud protection will pay up to $10,000 for money that is stolen directly from bank accounts or credit cards through digital scams. These amounts of coverage show how much damage advanced attacks can do.
Access to dedicated case management may be more valuable than money: When someone steals your identity, NordProtect sends a U.S.-based expert to handle the whole recovery process. This case manager talks to credit bureaus, files reports with banks and the police, keeps track of dispute deadlines, and keeps an eye on the case until it is resolved.
The Cost of Preventing
NordProtect is currently charging $4.49 a month, which is 71% less than the normal price and it is the lowest price the service has ever been offered at. This makes full identity protection cheaper than most streaming subscriptions or a single trip to a coffee shop. The service comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee so you don’t have to worry about losing money if it doesn’t meet your security needs.
Look at this cost next to the possible costs of recovery. The Identity Theft Resource Center says that people who have their identities stolen spend an average of 200 hours trying to fix the problem. Even at a low hourly wage, this means thousands of dollars in lost productivity. When you add up the costs of hiring a lawyer, buying credit monitoring services after the fact, and possible losses from fake transactions, prevention is much cheaper than reaction.
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