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| The Basics | Scammed -- even after you die
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Crooks are digging up identities and compounding families' grief.
By Rick VanderKnyff
Death makes you an even more irresistible target to identity thieves.
"Criminals have known for years that assuming the identity of a deceased person buys them some time," said Diane Terry, director of the Fraud Victim Assistance Department at TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting agencies.
These scam artists comb the obituaries, steal death certificates and even glean additional personal information from genealogy Web sites. Then they exploit gaps in the way deaths are reported to financial institutions to open new credit or run up charges on existing accounts. Sometimes, they manage to drain funds from deposit accounts.
It's a murky corner of the booming identity theft arena, but relatives can take steps to reduce the chance that the identity of a deceased loved one will be stolen, said Linda Foley, co-executive director of the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center.
The effects
Figures for identity crimes involving the deceased aren't tracked separately in the United States -- although there has been at least one well-publicized case, involving a victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks. In the United Kingdom, where a national fraud-prevention service does track cases of "impersonation of the dead," the numbers are on the rise -- from 15,000 reported cases in 2001 to more than 70,000 in 2004.
Foley says her group, which assists the victims of identity thefts, gets a steady stream of reports of incidents involving the deceased. She has been trying to push for some legislative fixes for years with little luck.
The dead, of course, don't have to worry about maintaining a sterling credit rating, and if a fraudulent account is opened, relatives can usually clear up any obligations by presenting a copy of the death certificate.
But having to untangle an identity crime involving a loved one can present an emotional burden at a time already fraught with stress and grief. And a spouse of a deceased victim can be open to serious financial repercussions if the scam affects joint accounts.
"Think about it. What if you start getting collection notices and credit card bills" after the death of a loved one, Foley asked. "How much pain do people have to go through?"
ID thieves are not always looking to make a fast buck. Some steal the identity of someone who died to escape legal or immigration problems.
Loretta, a Virginia resident who asked to be identified by first name only, lost her 6-year-old daughter, Mary, in a traffic accident in 1982. In 2001, someone called Loretta's mother to report that someone was using Mary's birth certificate for identification.
Loretta later learned that the person had used the identity to enter the military reserves. She reported the incident to military authorities, to Social Security and to law enforcement. But she still does not know if the person continues to use the identity -- or why they did it in the first place.
"It was very upsetting. It was like somebody unburied my child," she said. "When you lose a child, you never believe they're dead anyway. It was like I had to do it all over again."
Related news and commentary on MSN Money
Scale back the obituary
Long, loving obituary notices are a respectful remembrance of the departed. Often, however, they include so much information that potential thieves have a big head start.
Diane Terry of TransUnion worked her first case of identity theft more than 20 years ago. A young co-worker told her that someone had opened credit card accounts in the name of his recently deceased father. Terry took on the case and ended up accompanying police officers in Anaheim, Calif., when they served a search warrant.
When they entered the house, they found "stacks of obituary notices maybe 2 feet tall" on the dining room table. He had been working the same basic scam for years, Terry said.
Long obituaries are traditional, but "the more they know, the more damage they can do," Terry said.
Notify banks and creditors
Foley's group, the Identity Theft Resource Center, has on its Web site a detailed set of recommendations of whom to notify in the event of a relative's death -- and how to notify them. She recommends following the steps as quickly as possible. (You can find the checklist here.)
The federal government does maintain something ominously called a Death Master File, and all three credit reporting agencies and most financial institutions subscribe to monthly updates. However, it can take two months for a name to make it onto the list, and some names are never reported at all.
Foley recommends making at least 12 copies of the death certificate and notifying anyone with whom the deceased had an account. The surviving spouse and/or executor will need to settle any outstanding debts, and the surviving spouse will probably be asked to close any joint accounts and reopen them under the surviving individual's name. The list would include:- Credit card companies
- Banks
- Stockbrokers
- Loan/lien holders
- Mortgage companies
Contact the credit reporting agencies
Foley recommends contacting the three credit reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- immediately to do two things:- Request a copy of the decedent's credit report. This can let you know of additional accounts that need to be closed.
- Request that the report be flagged with a "deceased" alert. This should ensure that no fraudulent accounts are opened -- although Foley noted that not everyone checks credit reports before issuing credit.
Terry of TransUnion agreed that independently notifying the reporting agencies was a good idea and noted that each has be contacted; death information is not shared between the agencies. She said relatives or executors could mail a death certificate to the agencies; Foley includes individual form letters for each agency on the ITRC site.
Let Social Security know
The Social Security Administration assembles the aforementioned Death Master File. Relatives and funeral directors notify the states of deaths; the states in turn inform the Social Security Administration.
But this is a slow and inefficient process, and Foley recommends contacting the administration directly. This is particularly important in the case of current Social Security beneficiaries, but is good practice in general. When the administration receives a death notice, they flag the person's number as "inactive."
Loretta, whose late daughter was the target of an impersonation, noted that virtually all children in the U.S. are now issued a Social Security number at birth. But children's deaths frequently go unreported, she said, a fact confirmed by Foley. And deceased children -- with pristine Social Security numbers -- can be particular targets for criminals who seek to steal an identity for long-term purposes.
What if fraud takes place?
How does one know if fraud involving a deceased relative has taken place? It could come in the form of a collection notice, a credit card bill or a notification from law enforcement. It may be uncovered by reviewing a credit report.
The first step, said Terry, is to contact police and file a report -- this report is invaluable in working with financial institutions later on. At this point, it can be most helpful to get more guidance from one of the credit reporting agencies or from Foley's ITRC.
Fraud assistance phone numbers:- TransUnion: (800) 680-7289
- Experian: (888) 397-3742
- Equifax: (888) 766-0008
- Identity Theft Resource Center: (858) 693-7935
Finally, now you can stop junk mail, too
The nation's largest direct marketing group has set up an online registry to remove dead people from its phone, e-mail and direct mail lists for a $1 charge. The fee is for credit card verification and for checking that those on the list are really dead.
The Direct Marketing Association says its Deceased Do-Not-Contact list was designed to help families dealing with the loss of a loved one. The idea follows the federal government's popular Do Not Call Registry, which allows consumers to sign up online and imposes fines on telemarketers when they call those consumers.
The DMA lets relatives register the deceased's phone number on the list, provided they live in the same residence. The organization said it would provide its list of the deceased to companies that are not members of the organization.
You can sign up for the list here
"It's horribly upsetting to someone who's alive if you get a call and it's for your husband who has passed away," said Mitch Katz, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission, which also set up the Do Not Call Registry. "I can imagine why people wouldn't want to get those calls."
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