
6/29/23
protect your late partner's identity; part 2

"Protecting the Dead From Identity Theft" by Sid Kirchheimer, author of Scam Proof Your Life, continues:
Ghosting
can still cause plenty of angst. So protect yourself by taking these steps
after a loved one's death:
. In obituaries, list the age but don't include birth date,
mother's maiden name or other personal identifiers that could be useful to ID
thieves. Omitting the person's address also reduces the likelihood of a home
burglary during the funeral (sadly, this does happen).
· Using certified mail with "return receipt," send
copies of the death certificate to each credit-reporting bureau — Equifax,
Experian and TransUnion — asking them to place a "deceased alert" on
the credit report. Mail certificates to banks, insurers, brokerages and credit
card and mortgage companies where the deceased held accounts. If you're closing
an individual account, make sure the institution lists "Closed: Account
Holder Is Deceased" as the reason. For joint accounts, remove the deceased's
name.
· Report the death to Social Security by calling 800-772-1213.
· Contact the Department of Motor Vehicles to cancel the
deceased's driver's license, to prevent duplicates from being issued to
fraudsters.
· A few weeks later, check the credit report of the person at annualcreditreport.com to see if there's been any suspicious
activity. Several months later, go to the same site to get another free report from a different credit-reporting
bureau.
· For more tips, visit the Identity Theft Resource Center and type "deceased" in the
search box.
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