Can Postmortem Identity Theft Affect You
Many don’t think it may be a problem but postmortem identity theft can affect you and your family. Identity theft is so common in nowadays within the world we are living in. It is very easy for those who are thieves to obtain from almost anyone the kind of financial, personal and any sort of information. Many of these ways are from either on the Internet, by impersonating a company by calling and tricking you into disclosing financial information, or even from personal mail you might leave in your vehicle or within you home. But there has been a different kind of identity theft has been going on for many, many decades that most people should be aware of.
What is PostMortem Identity Theft
Postmortem identity theft is when someone steals your identity when you have deceased. That’s right,It is so hard to comprehend but people can steal your identity even after you die. So it is a very good idea that every family should discuss when dealing with a more elderly person in your family or even when someone may become terminally ill. Such proactive steps to take could be having a will for after such a thing happens to cover not only the surviving members of that particular deceased person. Just know that postmortem identity theft can have disastrous consequences on your surviving family members when and if it is discovered by a thief who is willing to whatever it takes to steal someones identity.
How Can PostMortem Identity Theft Be Spotted
I know this situation bothers me as well and thinking about how could something like this happen at all is really the most troubling? Unfortunately, all that it will take is for an identity thief to read the obituaries and find someone who matches either what they look like or what their clients are looking for. It is really strange that someone could get all of that information from such a post but unfortunately there are people who prey on this kind of information.
As soon as an identity thief has a name and birthday, all they would have to do is go to city hall and get a death certificate. Once again if they look like the deceased or have all the particular information about a person then a lot can happen. Many are not aware of this fact but social security numbers actually remain valid for a number of years after a person’s death due to paperwork pileup and overall population. It is an unfortunate fact of the matter but this is how easy it is. This enables the use of that social security number for a long time with no worries and postmortem identity theft really starts to affect those who have been left behind.
What Problems Postmortem Identity Theft Can Cause
Obviously with knowing the name, birth date and social security numbers identity thieves can really invoke a lot of problems after this has been obtained. Many times the problems with postmortem identity theft arise when creditors of the deceased notice this person is amassing a lot of debt that they would not normally accrue. This is normally when the problem arises from this type of identity theft because the family may not have covered all the basis financially and may not be aware this may be happening. By knowing this and taking really being proactive in trying to prevent this identity theft will be useful because there will be a lot of confusion between family members and creditors as they try to sort this all out.
When such actions involve the creditors know that if there are inheritances to be passed down, the creditors may try to get paid from that lump of money before any family members receive their share. It is so hard to believe that this can happen but it does and will happen if your not proactive in handling the potential actions from happening to you. This is very unfair obviously but this is the sort of the action to be taken that is exactly what the identity thief wants.
By the time all this has happened, the chances are the thief has moved on to another potential postmortem identity theft victim. The undo stress of this burden can not only affect you but also your credit especially if your the surviving member who is taking responsibility for this. Knowing the right steps to take immediately after someone has deceased will not only protect you but keep from having to deal with such a heinous crime.
How Can You Protect Yourself From Post Mortem Identity Theft
Knowing how to protect yourself from postmortem identity theft will definitely help in the long run. There are three very important steps to take that you should implement immediately to prevent postmortem identity theft and they are as follows:
- make sure to notify the Social Security Administration
- as well as all creditors and
- consumer reporting companies.
If they know this person is deceased, they won’t issue credit cards, hand out any sort of credit line or lend any money and will notify you immediately if that social security number gets used. Being aware of postmortem identity theft and how to protect you and your family is very important.
Last 10 posts in Identity Theft Basics
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- Minimize Your Risk Of Identity Theft - October 23rd, 2008
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271 comments
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