Protect yourself & your family from scams

After years researching scam tactics, three tools come up over and over as the difference between the people who get hit and the people who don't. These are the ones we use ourselves and recommend to our own families.

Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we'd install on our own parents' devices.

Recommended tools

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Identity Protection — Aura

Aura

All-in-one digital safety. Aura monitors your identity, finances, and online accounts for fraud — and alerts you in real time. Includes identity theft insurance up to $1M.

Get Aura Protection
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VPN Protection

NordVPN

Why you need it: Scammers exploit unsecured public WiFi — coffee shops, hotels, airports — to intercept the data leaving your phone or laptop. A VPN encrypts that traffic so nobody on the network can read it, even if they're sitting two tables away with the right tools. It also hides your IP address from data brokers who sell it to scam operations.

Get NordVPN
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Threat Protection

NordVPN Threat Protection

Why you need it: Blocks malicious websites, phishing links, and trackers before they ever reach your browser. If you accidentally click a phishing link in a text message, Threat Protection stops the page from loading at all — no chance to enter your password into a fake bank site. Works even when the VPN itself is disconnected.

Enable Threat Protection
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Identity Protection

NordProtect

Why you need it: Monitors the dark web for your personal info — email, Social Security number, credit card numbers — and alerts you the moment something shows up. Includes identity-fraud insurance that reimburses you for losses if a scammer drains an account. The earlier you catch identity theft, the cheaper and easier it is to undo.

Get NordProtect

Coming soon

We're in the process of vetting and joining affiliate programs for two more tools we'd recommend. They'll get full write-ups here once approved:

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Password Manager

Recommendation pending — affiliate program in review

Reused passwords are still the #1 way accounts get taken over. A password manager fixes it. We'll publish a specific recommendation once our affiliate review is finalized.

Frequently asked questions

A VPN does more than encrypt public WiFi. It hides your IP address from data brokers and trackers, blocks malicious sites, and prevents your ISP from selling your browsing history. If you bank online, shop online, or use streaming services, a VPN reduces the surface area scammers can use to find and target you.
A VPN protects your connection — it encrypts the traffic leaving your device. Identity protection (like NordProtect) monitors what's already out there: dark web databases, breach dumps, credit reports. Think of a VPN as a lock on your front door, and identity protection as a security camera watching for break-in attempts elsewhere. They solve different problems.
No. Modern security apps are designed for everyone. Once you install them, they run quietly in the background. NordVPN's mobile app is one tap to connect. NordProtect sends a plain-English email if your info shows up in a breach. There is nothing to configure beyond signing up. We picked these specifically because they don't require technical knowledge.
After researching scam tactics for years, two patterns came up repeatedly: scammers exploit unencrypted public WiFi to harvest credentials, and they buy personal data leaked from breaches to target victims. NordVPN addresses both with one tool. It's also independently audited (PwC, Deloitte), runs on every device a person typically owns, and has the largest server network for reliable connections. We tested cheaper alternatives and several were either selling user data themselves or had broken DNS leak protection.
Yes. If you sign up through these links, ZapScam earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. That's how this site stays free. We only recommend tools we'd recommend to our own family — and we've turned down affiliate offers from products that didn't meet that bar. The commission has no influence on which products end up on this page.

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