Deceased identity theft, and how to shut the door

After · 7 min read

A death creates a period in which someone's identity is fully documented, publicly announced, and not being monitored by anyone. Fraudsters use it. Closing the window takes four actions: notify the Social Security Administration, put a deceased notice on one credit file, which propagates to the other two, cancel the driver license with the state motor vehicle agency, and limit what goes into the obituary. The Michigan Attorney General's guidance is explicit that obituaries should not include a date of birth, a place of birth, or an address. If fraud does occur, IdentityTheft.gov is the federal reporting and recovery route.

Why it exists

The vulnerability is structural rather than unusual. A death certificate confirms identity, an obituary publishes the details, probate filings are public records, and the person themselves will never notice a fraudulent account. It is the only situation in which a complete identity becomes both public and unwatched at the same time.

The exposure runs for months. Records take time to propagate between agencies, credit bureaus and lenders. During that period a person's Social Security number can still support an application that looks entirely ordinary to a lender.

This is not a reason for fear, and it does not warrant monitoring services sold on the strength of it. It is a reason to do four specific things early, all of which are free.

How it actually works

Notify the Social Security Administration. In most cases the funeral home does this. Where no funeral home was involved, call 1-800-772-1213 with the name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death. This is the notification that eventually propagates the widest.

Place a deceased notice on the credit file. Write to one of the three national credit bureaus with a copy of the death certificate, the person's legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, date of death, your own name and mailing address, and your government issued identification. If you are not the spouse, court documents authorizing you to act are also required. Equifax states that a notice added by one bureau is passed to the other two.

Cancel the driver license. The Michigan Attorney General's guidance advises taking a copy of the death certificate and the driver license to the state motor vehicle office so that the license is cancelled in the state system. Do the same with any state identification card. Every state has an equivalent process and the details differ.

Limit the obituary. The same guidance advises against including the date of birth, the place of birth, or the address. An obituary can be warm, specific and complete without supplying the three fields most used to verify an identity.

Where you stand

You are entitled to a copy of the person's credit report so that you can check it. Requesting one as the executor generally requires the death certificate and proof of your authority. Checking it two or three times over the first year is a reasonable and free precaution.

You are not liable for fraudulent debt opened in a dead person's name, and neither is the estate. If a collector pursues a debt that was opened after the date of death, say so in writing and report it.

You are entitled to a federal recovery process. IdentityTheft.gov is the Federal Trade Commission's reporting site and it produces a personalized recovery plan and the affidavit that creditors and credit bureaus accept. Use it rather than negotiating account by account.

State processes differ. Cancelling a license, cancelling voter registration, and how quickly a state agency updates its records are all state matters. Ask your own state, and note that some states also offer a state level identity theft unit through the attorney general's office.

What to do

The mistakes that cost people

Publishing a full date of birth in the obituary. It is the single most useful field to a fraudster and it adds nothing to the tribute.
Assuming the death certificate alone stops new credit. Nothing propagates automatically at the speed people expect, which is why the deceased notice matters.
Paying for a credit monitoring service for a deceased person. The free actions in this module close most of the exposure.
Ignoring a collection notice for an account you do not recognize. An account opened after the date of death is evidence of fraud, not a debt to negotiate.

Words you will meet

deceased identity theft: The fraudulent use of a dead person's identifying information to open accounts or claim benefits.
deceased notice: A flag placed on a credit file recording the death, which lenders are expected to see before granting credit.
credit freeze: A restriction placed on a credit file preventing new accounts being opened, which some families place in addition to a deceased notice.
identity theft report: The official report generated through the Federal Trade Commission's IdentityTheft.gov, which creditors and bureaus accept as evidence.
obituary: A published notice of a death, which is a public document and should therefore omit identifying data.

What this does not cover

This module does not cover fraud committed against the estate by a family member or a fiduciary, which is a matter for the probate court and a lawyer, or funeral related scams, which state consumer protection offices handle.

Go deeper

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