Identity theft: what is it, and what can you do to stop it?

The bereaved experience a variety of emotions and thoughts following the death of a loved one. Most likely, these thoughts do not include the risk of identity theft. However, during the period following death, identity thieves search the internet and other public resources for personally identifying information of the deceased in an attempt to steal the deceased’s identity for monetary gain.

With a vast and growing amount of information publicly accessible, identity theft of the deceased has become a widespread problem. Around 2.5 million Americans fall victim to deceased identity theft annually. Fortunately, there are a variety of preventive measures that the deceased’s family can perform to minimize the risk of identity theft.

Deceased identity theft, often referred to as ghosting, involves the procurement of personal identifiers of the deceased for use in fraudulent activities, such as opening credit card accounts, obtaining loans, collecting tax benefits, and acquiring cell phone services. Identity thieves often begin gathering personal information by searching obituaries for identifiers such as the deceased’s full name, mother’s maiden name, address, and birth date. With this information, thieves can illicitly purchase the deceased’s Social Security number.  

Given that family members aren’t likely to receive the deceased’s credit reports after the estate is closed (and the deceased are unable to check their credit report for activity), ghosting is difficult to detect, and identity thieves often escape detection. Additionally, it can take up to six months for financial institutions, credit-reporting bureaus, and the Social Security Administration to share death records, providing thieves with sufficient time to commit fraudulent activities. For these reasons, prevention is the solution to avoiding identity theft.

Preventive tasks ultimately fall into one of two categories: notifying relevant institutions of the death, and keeping personal information secure.

• On the notification side, the family of the deceased should report the death to the Social Security administration before publishing the obituaryto prevent the theft of government benefits.

• Additionally, copies of the death certifications should be sent to the three major credit bureaus with a request to place a “deceased alert” on the deceased’s credit report.

• Finally, the family should contact the Department of Motor Vehicles in the deceased’s resident state to cancel their driver’s license. After the obituary is published, the family should also mail copies of the death certificate to financial institutions and insurers, asking for a letter confirming that the account is closed and has been flagged with an “account holder is deceased” tag.

The family is also responsible for keeping personal information secure.

• Due to the fact that thieves often gather personal identifiers from obituaries, family members should exclude the deceased’s date of birth (note: it is OK to list age), mother’s maiden name, and address from the obituary.

• Additionally, the family should check the deceased’s credit report for suspicious activity a few weeks after the death.

If one does become victim to ghosting, the individual should close the account and have their loved one’s credit report flagged. While the family is not responsible for charges resulting from an identity theft, the family should file a report with the police and the Federal Trade Commission.

Fortunately, many of these identity theft prevention tasks have been included in Peacefully’s “A Loved One Has Passed” checklist. Additionally, Peacefully offers an identity theft prevention service that gets the deceased’s credit report, freezes their credit, disposes of their driver’s license, and removes them from advertisers’ lists and election records.

Ultimately, ghosting is a preventable crime. Follow the steps outlined above to ensure your loved one’s identity and assets are protected from theft.

— Jon Scalabrini