Death Certificate Identity Theft

Death certificates and public death indexes contain exactly the information needed to commit identity fraud: full legal name, date of birth, sometimes a social security or national insurance number, and address history. Because the deceased will not check credit reports, respond to fraud alerts, or notice suspicious account activity, their identity can be exploited for months or years before anyone notices, a phenomenon sometimes called 'ghosting.'

Common exploitations include filing a fraudulent tax refund in the deceased's name before the real estate or family files, opening new credit lines or loans, continuing to claim government benefits the deceased was receiving, and applying for identification documents. The fraud often only surfaces when the estate's executor tries to close accounts and discovers new ones the deceased never opened, or when a benefits agency asks why a dead person continues submitting claims.

Families can reduce this risk by notifying credit bureaus, the tax authority, social security or pension agencies, and major creditors promptly after a death, requesting a formal 'deceased' flag be placed on the person's file, and monitoring for any post-death account activity for at least a year.