How the dead identity theft usually occur?
Ben Souede, Attorney at Law Group Angeli in Oregon, said the theft of identity theft looks dead to the living identity. "In general, it occurs in the genre of the period between the death of someone and the period in which various government and credit-related agencies are officially informed of the death," he said. "It involves the thief identity attacking the dead as they would prey on the living room - open credit cards, running credit card debts of the deceased accounts, using [personal information] to subscribe to services "and this stuff
How identity thieves get the information of deceased persons?
Identity thieves use a variety of ways to collect personal information about a deceased person. A recent identity thieves ways were to obtain personal information on deaths is falling behind the Death Master File, according to government officials during the 2013 Federal Trade Commission forum called: The "main identity theft a problem in this day and age. "death master file is maintained by the administration of social security, distributed by the National Technical information Service and made available through public requests for the file, as well as fresh , which starts at $ 1,825. the file contains the name, social security number, date of birth, date of death and the code of the last address to the county record, state and zip to over 85 million people whose deaths were reported to the Administration of social security from 1936 to present. According to the FTC forum, obituaries comb identity thieves then cross check the name of the person with the death Master file for all personal information and to steal their identity completely.
There are a couple of other ways that identity thieves gather personal information about the deceased, including placing fake phone calls to members of the family living, according to Souede. "Often, people will receive calls and be told that the caller calls a formal affair and requires a social security number or other information," he said. "Identity thieves have been known to scan obituaries and try to sort of rebuild enough [information] for a project a false identity in progress. The idea is that these people are waiting to see the names or perhaps an address [or] enough to go hunting for the critical information they need to commit fraud, "he said.
How close to prevent identity theft?
Fortunately, there are four steps to the identity theft protection that relatives can take to prevent their family members died from falling victim to identity theft.
1. Obtain additional official copies of the death certificate: When someone dies, the family must provide an official copy of the death certificate to prove that the person really is died, according to Souede. "And so a very good first step for the family members who seek to preserve [their loved one’s] information is to obtain several official copies of the death certificate," he said. "A lot of resources out there will tell you to get as many as a dozen because you send these agencies and other organizations that are going to require an official proof of death, and obtain an official copy and make copies usually isn 't going to do it. "there is a cost for each copy of the official death certificate, but the price is worth it in the long run. Souede said in Oregon, for example, the first copy is $ 20 and each additional copy costs $ 15, he said is pretty standard.
2. Contact government agencies and creditors immediately: Once you receive official copies of the death certificate, you need to communicate with government agencies and creditors to awareness of death, said Souede. "Get government agencies and credit agencies officially informed of the death as quickly as possible," he said. "This tends to be advice that is fairly consistent across the country and numerous state attorneys general have this kind of advice on their website. A family member can inform the Administration of Social Security as soon as someone one dies. "
Souede said that family members should be sure to inform the credit bureaus so no new credit records may be issued in the name of the deceased. The credit bureaus have different standards and different between the three but they almost always require an official copy of the death certificate, he added.
3. Notify any other entity treated the deceased: Be sure to communicate with any other entity that the deceased treated in terms of financial, insurance companies and Department of motor vehicles, by Souede. If the person has had a specialized career - as a lawyer, a doctor or a plumber - and families should also contact the regulatory body of the profession, he said
.4. Avoid revealing much personal information of the deceased. family members should not reveal too much personal information about the deceased person, even the death
"The family and friends should be very careful to give information about the deceased person" , Souede said. "There is a kind of need to balance the desire to make the life of that person or to celebrate life and, simultaneously, to protect them."
People should also avoid putting update genealogy websites, he warned. "people who like to use genealogy websites will often go and update their profile, include a date of death or perhaps include other information [such as] as last address, "said Souede." They tend to provide all kind of personal information that this person probably would not want there if they were alive. So a good rule of thumb is "Do not put anything in the public domain that you would not put it out of yourself -. If you were alive or dead "
While all these are great measures to identity theft protection, the most important thing is to make sure that you treat personal information as you would if it were your own.
"The purpose of identity thief is to be able to use this stolen identity for as long and as much as possible," said Souede. "So if you can make it work harder protecting the vulnerable person - whether alive or dead - and protect their information and identity thief is likely to move to the next potential target. You do not have to do a perfect job [and] even do a good job early can make a huge difference. "