Coping with the loss of a loved
is undoubtedly one of life?s most painful experiences. The last thing a
bereaved family needs to deal with whilst mourning their loss, is to find that
an identity thief has taken advantage of their loss and has used their loved
one?s information to drain the estate of its assets. Fraudsters will try to take advantage of a family in mourning,
distracted at a trying time to cause harm in this way. Here are some of
the steps that you can take to protect the identity of a deceased loved one,
and the sooner after their death, the better.
Too much information
The deceased can be particularly
vulnerable to identity theft because it can take much longer for any fraudulent
activity to be detected than if they were alive. Much information about their
death is readily available to the public in the form of death notices and
obituaries in local newspapers, which are a source of valuable information. What might seem like innocuous details,
such as such mother?s maiden name, address, ancestry, birth date, death date
are just the kind of leads that can be used fraudulently for a range of ills
from setting up new accounts in the deceased person?s name to absconding with property. Whilst it is important to honor the deceased
and announce the death to the public, try to avoid disclosing too much personal
information about your loved one in public announcements of their death.
Secure sensitive documents quickly
Death certificates are very sensitive documents; make several copies of the original and keep all securely.
Because of issues of security
you will find that, many organizations, including banks and other financial
institutions will insist upon sighting the original whilst they will retain
certified copies to update their records.
There are many personal and financial documents that must be found and
secured immediately after a loved ones demise. Their home should be quickly
secured to ensure that important documents such as bank statements, title documents,
cheque books, ID cards and other valuables are not left easily accessible. There have been cases where thieves have
broken into a deceased person?s home whilst everyone is attending the funeral. It?s also important to limit the number of people
who have access to the deceased?s personal papers.
Notify financial institutions
It can take weeks
or months after a person dies for the authorities to record a new death in
their database. Financial institutions sometimes aren?t aware of a death for
several months simply because they have not been officially notified by the
family. In that time criminals can have a free reign to open accounts, get
identification cards, and do much damage using a dead person?s identity.
Put together a list of all the
deceased person?s accounts and without delay, notify all the companies where
the deceased had a financial relationship. This might include banks,
stockbrokers, investment companies, their pension fund administrator and other financial institutions where the
deceased held an account. In some cases an original death certificate
may be required. The narrative ?account
holder is deceased? will be clearly stated as the reason of closure so the
accounts cannot be reopened and used by identity thieves.
All outstanding debts will have to be resolved by the executor before
the account can be closed or the deceased person?s name removed from the
account. Joint accounts should be closed and the balance
transferred to the surviving account holder?s name. Other accounts that the
deceased operated may also need to be closed, balances transferred to
beneficiaries or newly created estate account. Your lawyer will be able to
advise exactly how all this should be handled and what documents are required. In economies where credit reporting is well
established, it is important that the agencies are notified formally.
Family members
Sadly, there are numerous cases of identity theft committed by relatives of
the deceased. Family members have ready access to personal and financial
information necessary to commit identity fraud; this might be a relative who is in financial difficulty, or a
child that has sense of entitlement and feels that they were treated
unfairly in the probate process. For that reason, and particularly with families
with complicated situations it is important that the critical identifying
information of a deceased is available to only a handful of people. Ideally one
trusted member of the family should be the point-person for collecting
documents, closing accounts and so on an who is available to start dealing with
estate matters quite early.
Whilst it is indeed a difficult time to have to deal with a deceased
person?s finances or personal information so soon after their death, the
current reality is that the identities of deceased individuals are increasingly
vulnerable to fraudulent attack. Unfortunately,
in a world where identity theft is a fast growing crime, it is important to do
all you can to protect your loved ones identity.
Write to personalfinance@234next.com with your questions and comments.
We would love to hear from you. All letters will be considered for publication,
and if selected, may be edited.
Source: http://britsfinanceinusa.com/personal-finance-grave-robbers-and-identity-theft.htm
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