Identity Theft and the Dead: A Big Problem - 3 Steps to Prevent it from Happening to You

Every day, police departments across the United States receive calls from concerned family members regarding their dead relative's involvement in some type of identity theft. Credit card fraud, big ticket item purchases, real estate deals and even business start-ups are a few of the type of identity theft transactions reported. The dollar value of these fraudulent purchases and business dealings range in amounts from a couple of hundred dollars to millions of dollars. Identity theft of the dead can happen in a number of different ways and the surviving bereaved family may be unaware of the activity for years.

It is not unusual for the bereaved family not to consider the need to protect the deceased individual's name or personal details following their death, few people seldom do. The period following the death of a loved one is a very solemn time. The energies of the family are focused on consoling the survivors and burying the dead. Identity theft of the deceased personal information is the furthest thing from anyone's mind. However, as countless police reports will prove, identity theft of a deceased individual's personal information for fraudulent purposes occur hundreds of times a day.

There are a number of safeguards you can implement to prevent the identity theft of your departed beloved one;

Avoid including too many personal detail in their published obituary, details such as the person's date of birth, exact place of birth, and home address. Stating the year of birth and the nearest large city should suffice. By eliminating the home address of the recently departed, you discourage looting and theft from the dwelling in the event it is sitting unoccupied.

Cancel the departed individual's driver's license with the state's department of motor vehicles and their social security number with the Social Security Administration. That way inquires to either of these important identification properties will generate deceased responses, thus initiating closer scrutiny.

Forward copies of the deceased death certificate to the three major credit reporting bureaus; Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian, as well as to all credit card companies the deceased had accounts with and any other credit issuers they had dealings with to cancel all open accounts, immediately after your beloved has passed. Approximately a month to six weeks after these submissions, order a credit report from each of the three credit bureaus for the deceased. This is to ensure no suspicious activities are present and to confirm all contacted parties have documented their records accordingly. In the event fraudulent or suspicious activities do appear, contact the local police department and the credit bureaus immediately.

Unfortunately, sometimes there is not rest for the dead. Tens of thousands of families have been victims of identity theft of the dead and had to spend numerous hours correcting the calamity which resulted. Do not allow yourself or your dearly departed loved one to become victimized. Follow these few steps so that everyone rests in peace.

Resource: Personal Experience