The criminals never stop...
stealing. Identity thieves steal the identities of the deceased in the hopes their deeds will go undetected longer than when they prey on living victims. My insurance company gives these helpful tips to keep the havoc out of your life:
1) Don't include dates of birth or addresses in obituaries
2) Promptly notify the deceased's financial institutions about your loved one's passing
3) Don't let mail accumulate in the deceased's mail box
4) Cancel the person's driver's license
5) Send copies of the death certificate to the three major credit reporting agencies. Several weeks later, request a free annual credit report from each bureau at
www.annualcreditreport.com and look for fraudulent activity.
This happened to are family. My dad passed away. About six months later my mom tried to buy a house, and all these debts showed up under dad's name. It took forever to get it all straightened out! Even with a valid death certificate the credit reporting agencies were hesitant to do anything, even going as far as accussing my mom of incurring the debt in dad's name even though it was done no where near where she lived. I'm glad to see someone post tips to keep others from the ordeal. It was horrible. If we had known this stuff when he passed maybe we could have prevented it all.
