Quantcast

Schemes & Rip Offs: Stealing from the Dead - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

Schemes & Rip Offs: Stealing from the Dead

Posted: Updated:

ID thieves will stoop to just about anything to steal someone's personal information.  But this may be a new low, robbing the dead of their identity.

Your local cemetery has become a favorite for id thieves looking to rob a grave of a deceased person's identity.

When someone dies the Social Security Administration is required to publish, online, what's called the "death master file."  The social security numbers of those who've died.

Bob Sullivan, a technology writer with MSNBC says, "there's even an iPhone App for looking up social security numbers for folks who have passed away."

Banks, lenders and others need to know that a specific social security number is no longer valid, but id thieves often get to the list quicker.

"The first thing identity thieves can do is pick up newspaper out of the trash and see who's passed away, go to the library, go online and look up their social security number" Sullivan said.

You can avoid being a victim by letting the Social Security Administration, bank and credit card company know a loved one has died.  And send a copy of the death certificate to the big three credit bureaus.

Other advice from experts:  open the mail addressed to the deceased to look for any evidence of fraud and don't publish birth dates or addresses in obituaries.

Research firm ID Analytics estimates the identities of two and a half million deceased Americans are stolen every year.

Powered by WorldNow
Powered by WorldNowAll content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and Valley News Live. All Rights Reserved.
For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.