Identity theft after a death

Fraud using the identities of deceased people is a documented and persistent problem. It is sometimes called ghosting, and it works because the conditions are ideal for it.

Why it happens

The death is announced publicly, in notices and online, frequently including the full name, address, date of birth and family details — which is close to a complete identity package.

Accounts remain open for months while the estate is administered.

Nobody is monitoring. Statements go unopened, alerts go to an email nobody checks, and unusual activity is not noticed.

Notification is slow. Credit reference agencies, government departments and financial institutions may not learn of the death for weeks.

Bereaved families are distracted and are unlikely to be scrutinising credit reports.

What fraudsters do

Apply for credit in the deceased's name. Open accounts. Take over existing accounts. Redirect post. File fraudulent tax claims. Use the identity to obtain documents. And, in some cases, target the family directly with scams referencing the death.

The last category is particularly unpleasant: contacting bereaved families claiming outstanding debts, unclaimed funds, or fees relating to the funeral.

What to do quickly

Register the death with the credit reference agencies in your country. Most have a specific process for notifying a death and will flag the file.

Several countries have a single service that notifies multiple credit agencies and other bodies, and using it is considerably faster than contacting each.

Notify banks and card providers promptly, and ask them to freeze accounts and cancel cards.

Use any government notification service that informs multiple departments at once, where one exists.

Redirect the post, which prevents documents being intercepted and ensures you see correspondence.

Several countries also have a service specifically to reduce direct marketing to deceased people, which reduces both distress and risk.

Secure the property, particularly if it is unoccupied, and collect post rather than leaving it accumulating.

Secure the email account, which is the route to most other accounts. Change the password if you have access, and enable two-factor authentication.

Be careful what goes in the death notice. Full date of birth, mother's maiden name, address and details of when the funeral is — which tells anyone reading it exactly when the house will be empty — are all worth omitting.

Consider not publishing an address at all.

What to monitor

Check the credit report of the deceased periodically for the first year. Agencies will provide it to an executor.

Watch for post arriving in their name from institutions they had no relationship with, which is the commonest early sign.

Keep the email account active and check it.

If it happens

Report to the police and obtain a reference number.

Notify the affected institutions and the credit agencies.

Notify any national fraud reporting body.

Keep records of everything.

The estate is generally not liable for debts fraudulently incurred, and demonstrating it takes time and documentation.

Scams aimed at the bereaved

A separate category and worth knowing about.

Debt collection for debts that do not exist, exploiting the family's uncertainty about the deceased's affairs.

Unclaimed asset scams, claiming that funds are held and a fee is required to release them.

Fake charity appeals referencing the death.

Funeral-related scams, including approaches claiming outstanding funeral costs.

Approaches to the estate from unregulated firms offering probate or asset-tracing services at high cost for work the executor could do or could have done more cheaply.

The general defences: verify independently rather than using contact details provided, never pay a fee to release funds, and be sceptical of urgency.

The genealogy and heir-hunting industry

Firms that identify heirs to unclaimed estates and offer to connect them in return for a percentage.

Some are legitimate and regulated. Others charge substantial percentages for information that is publicly available.

If approached, do not sign anything immediately. Take independent advice, and check whether the estate is listed publicly, since many jurisdictions publish unclaimed estates.

What to arrange in advance

An inventory of accounts, so that an executor can close things promptly rather than over months.

A password manager with emergency access, so the email account can be secured quickly.

Instructions about the death notice, if you have views about what should be published.

Consolidating accounts, which reduces the number of open doors.

The proportion point

This is not a reason for anxiety and it is a reason to act promptly on the notifications, which are straightforward and which most families delay because there is so much else to do.

Doing the credit agency notification and the post redirection in the first fortnight prevents most of it.

Notification services, credit agency processes and fraud reporting bodies differ by country. Ask at registration what services are available where you live.