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August 16, 2015

Identity Theft

It seems there are an increasing number of reports of identity theft ID).  I recently saw an article by Sid Kirchheimer that was published by AARP about the use of identities of people that have died.  “Postmortem identity theft may be shocking but it’s hardly rare, especially because the victims.”

One of the best known sources of information for ID is the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File.  The list is maintained to allow employers, financial institutions and government agencies to identify fraud.  That file’s use is intended to be restricted to  those entities.

“But federal law requires a version known as the Social Security Death Index be made available to the public.”  Social security numbers are not on the list.  Information on the list is often enough information for ID theft.  The details maybe available free on genealogy and other websites.

Kirchheimer’s article includes the following to block ID theft of the deceased:

  • “Immediately send death certificate copies by certified mail to the three main credit reporting bureaus.  Request that a ‘deceased alert’ be placed in the credit report.
  • Mail copies as soon as possible to banks, insurers and other financial firms requesting account closures or change of joint ownership.
  • Report the death to the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 and the IRS at 800-829-104.  Also notify the DMV.
  • In obituaries, don’t include the deceased’s birth date, place of birth , last address or job.
  • Starting a month after the death, check the departed’s credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com for suspicious activity.

IRS Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft:

Office of the Inspector General Social Security Social Security Administration – Report Fraud: