In the past, the accepted norm was an eloquently written obituary published in the local newspaper. The obituary contained details of the deceased’s life, relatives, hobbies, and upcoming funeral services. In most cases, the information contained in the obituary would be read only by subscribers to the local newspaper.
Fast forward to today’s digital age. While the obituary remains the format used to announce the death of a loved one, the methods and speed of publication have increased dramatically. Newspapers continue to print obituaries; however, the information contained in the obituary notice is no longer limited to its subscribers who pick up the newspaper at their doorstep. Most newspapers now have an online edition, allowing additional access to personal information that can be viewed by a multitude of people.
Unfortunately, this acceleration in the number of people who can access the deceased’s obituaries carries the danger of unscrupulous individuals attempting to scam grieving survivors or attempted identity theft. The standard information contained in an obituary notice can be used by devious people to cause more suffering to those who have just lost a loved one. Such scams that may be attempted include being contacted directly or by phone by criminals who may;
- Impersonating bank, insurance, or government officials and attempting to obtain information about the deceased, such as Social Security number, credit card number, date of birth, driver’s license numbers, and maiden name of the deceased mother in order to steal the identity.
- Demanding payment of bills allegedly owed by the deceased along with the threat of a lawsuit if payment is not received on time.
- Send or attempt to deliver an item, such as a book or jewelry, that has the name of the surviving spouse or child engraved on it. The recipient is told that the item was ordered by the deceased before he or she passed away. Of course, there is always the question of the “due payment” due to the gift.
- Breaking and robbing the survivors’ home while they are at the funeral.
- Use the information from the death notice to open credit cards.
- Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take when writing an obituary that will drastically reduce your chances of being targeted by criminals.
- Reduce the information offered in the death notice. To limit exposure to identity theft, list only the decedent’s year of birth and do not include the decedent’s mother’s maiden name.
- To avoid the flood of solicitations and reduce the risk of a home invasion while the occupants are at funeral services, do not include any addresses in the obituary.
- Close accounts and credit cards of the deceased. Notify the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) that the person is deceased. Once the agencies have updated this information, if an individual tries to open a credit card using the deceased’s information, the fraud will be detected.
Following the steps above will help minimize identity theft and scams. After the death of a loved one, all bills should be carefully examined and skeptical of any requests over the phone or in person. In this electronic age, taking such security measures will help ensure that mourners do not fall victim to further wrongs.