Scammers Will Target Anyone – Even The Deceased Identity theft is the last thing on a person's mind while grieving a loved one and preparing for a funeral — but some criminals see this vulnerable window of time as the perfect opportunity to steal a deceased person's identity.
Identity thieves can strike even after death. An identity thief's use of a deceased person's Social Security number may create problems for family members. This type of identity theft also victimizes merchants, banks, and other businesses that provide goods and services to the thief.
Anyone can get a hold of them. However, because they are public information, they are still tools that identity thieves can use. If you think of your identity as a jigsaw puzzle, your name and address are the first two pieces that they can use to build a bigger picture and ultimately put your identity at risk.
You could lose your life savings
If an identity thief gains access to your financial information — such as your account numbers or login information — they can empty your life savings and rack up debt in your name. Scammers have a multitude of ways they can get your financial information.
Physical Theft: examples of this would be dumpster diving, mail theft, skimming, change of address, reshipping, government records, identity consolidation. Technology-Based: examples of this are phishing, pharming, DNS Cache Poisoning, wardriving, spyware, malware and viruses.
You should review your bank account statements regularly; if you see unknown purchases, that could be a sign that your identity has been stolen. Check credit reports. Similarly, monitor your credit reports from all three credit-reporting bureaus for any unknown accounts or inaccurate information.
Scammers can steal your identity by obtaining your personal financial information online, at the door or over the phone. What they want are account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and other confidential information that they can use to loot your checking account or run up bills on your credit cards.
In legal terms, GDPR laws do not apply to information relating to deceased people. GDPR only applies to personal data pertaining to living individuals, thus, personal data relating to deceased individuals falls outside of this definition.
Using x-rays and medical records, odontologists can analyze dentition and jaw bones to provide information on the age of deceased persons, their general facial characteristics, their race, their socioeconomic grouping, and their habits or occupation.
Generally, post-mortem identity remains relatively stable—the individual's situational attributes are fixed by those who knew him in those roles. In fact, the eulogy may be seen as an effort to “fix” or cement the individual's identity as it offers a final summation—a closing narrative.
It's called “ghosting,” and it's both scary and surprising. Ghosting is a form of identity theft. It occurs when someone uses the personal information of a dead person, often for monetary gain. A savvy criminal can take over bank accounts, apply for new credit cards, and even file for fraudulent tax refunds.
These are some signs to look out for: Unusual bills or charges that you don't recognise appear on your bank statement. Mail that you're expecting doesn't arrive. You get calls or texts about products and services you've never used.
The best way to find out if someone has opened an account in your name is to pull your own credit reports to check. Note that you'll need to pull your credit reports from all three bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — to check for fraud since each report may have different information and reporting.
Monitor your credit report.
Create accounts with the big credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — to keep an eye out for new accounts that weren't opened by you.
The answer may surprise you – while everyone should be aware of identity theft, children and the elderly are at an especially high risk of becoming victims.
The three most common types of identity theft are financial, medical and online. Learn how you can prevent them and what to do if they happen to you.