The envelope arrived in the mail unsealed. When Maggie took it from her mailbox, out tumbled her late husband’s death certificate, a document containing significant Personal Identifiable Information.
Maggie had mailed the death certificate to her husband’s life insurance company to make her claim. When the insurance company returned the document, it didn’t seal the envelope.
“What if the death certificate fell into the wrong hands?” Maggie worried.
Her concern is legitimate. Every year thieves use the identities of nearly 2.5 million deceased Americans to obtain credit in their names.*
Here are six steps can you take to prevent the identity of your deceased loved one from being stolen.
Appoint one trustworthy person to handle this. As few people as possible should have access to the deceased’s death certificate, bank records and personal papers. Some family members and friends, especially those with money problems, costly addictions, or feelings they are entitled to more money, can and do steal.
Use caution when writing the obituary. Refrain from giving the person’s birth date, mother’s maiden name, address, and other personal information. Thieves can use this data to set up accounts in the deceased person’s name. It is okay to give the age of the deceased.
Verify Social Security has recorded the death. Most funeral homes will notify Social Security which then notifies Medicare. You can follow-up with Social Security by calling 800-772-1213.
Obtain a dozen or more certified death certificates. Funeral homes will often order these for you from the clerk in the town where your loved one died. You can also contact the clerk’s office yourself. There is usually a fee for each certificate.
Mail a death certificate to every business and organization where the deceased person had an account. To identify loan and credit accounts, have the surviving spouse or executor of the estate order a free credit report from each credit reporting agency (www.annualcreditreport.com). For accounts held in the deceased’s name, request the company mark the account as “Closed: Account Holder is deceased.” Notify:
- The IRS
- Banks and brokerage houses
- Loan holders including mortgage companies
- Insurance companies including home, life, auto, and medical
- Credit card companies
- Veterans Administration
- Organizations where the deceased had a professional license or was a member
- Department of Motor Vehicles to cancel the deceased’s driver’s license
For joint accounts where the joint owner is still alive, have the deceased person’s name removed from the account.
Mail a copy of the death certificate to each of the three credit reporting bureaus with a request to place a flag “Deceased: Do not issue credit” on the credit report. The three bureaus are:
- Equifax, PO Box 740260, Atlanta, GA 30374
- Experian, PO Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013
- TransUnion, LLC, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022
Remember to keep copies of all your correspondence and send it by certified mail, return receipt requested.
There are many ways an identity thief can access a deceased person’s information if it isn’t protected. Maggie doesn’t know whether her late husband’s personal information was stolen. But, since it could have been, she immediately sent copies of the death certificate to the credit reporting agencies.
Do you know of other precautions to take?
*Source: Internal Revenue Service
