I see the same advice everywhere: “Just freeze your credit with all three bureaus. It’s free. Bing, bang, boom, done.” And yes—do that. But in this video I explain why credit freezes only stop one slice of identity theft, and why the “freeze and forget” approach leaves massive gaps. If a thief files a fake tax return in your name, claims unemployment, or uses your info in ways that don’t require a credit check, a freeze doesn’t magically save you. And with constant breaches, you also need to know if your SSN, passwords, credit card numbers, address, or email are floating around online right now. I break down what actually matters: three-bureau monitoring (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion), real-time dark web monitoring, and data broker removal that doesn’t stop after a one-time opt-out. I also call out the pricing traps I hate—tiered plans where “basic” means one-bureau monitoring, and “$1M insurance” that’s quietly bucketed so stolen funds might only be covered up to something like $25K unless you keep upgrading. That’s why I recommend Aura. They don’t play the tiered-feature game: you get the full package on any plan, and you only choose plans based on how many people you’re covering. I’ve also tested their 24/7 fraud resolution by calling at midnight on a weekend—answered in under a minute—and their alerts are genuinely fast.