Important Financial Steps when a Loved One Dies

Identity thieves are becoming craftier. No longer do they merely steal from the living, but now they’re targeting even the dead. There’s a familiar saying don’t kick ‘em when they’re down. That’s exactly what these thieves are doing to the family of the deceased.

We’ve all dealt with death and depending on our connection to the deceased, the emotional stress varies. The emotional stress is what these thieves exploit when they take advantage of the delay when family members don’t immediately do the necessary paperwork. There are also bureaucratic delays and this lag is exactly what the thief needs to accomplish his goal. And on a side note, if financial institutions aren’t notified of the death then the accounts of the dead can stay active for up to 10 years.

So what do these thieves then do? They may search the obituaries in the newspapers or steal death certificates or they may even seek out the numerous websites that enable them to check the social security death index. Whatever the case, they could end up with a real social security number and a name that goes with it. Both the obituaries and the social security index will have information on the deceased. At this point they may either sell the information to other crooks or keep the information to apply for loans, access more credit and therefore make more money. There are some guidelines that we can follow as family members of the deceased to protect both ourselves and our loved one’s name.

• When writing an obituary, don’t share unneeded information such as the date of birth or the address of the deceased.


• Obtain at least 10 copies of the official birth certificate. This will provide the needed proof to the financial institutions, such as credit bureaus and banks and any other establishments, even the motor vehicle department.


• Now with the official birth certificate, you can begin to personally notify stock brokers, banks, loan holders, mortgage companies, financial institutions, credit card companies and any other establishment where the deceased had an account. When notifying, include name and SSN of the deceased, last 5 years of addresses, including the last known, and the dates of birth and death. Any outstanding balances will have to be transferred and then close all accounts with a note that the account holder is deceased. This is added protection so that no new accounts will be opened in the deceased’s name. Keep copies of any communication with these businesses.


• The death should be reported to all three credit bureaus as soon as possible. Put a deceased alert on the credit file. Request a credit report with any active joint accounts. These may potentially have to be closed. After about 2 months, request a copy of the credit report of the deceased person from all three credit bureaus. This will ensure that the death was reported on the credit file and no other transactions have occurred since then.


• Contact the social security management and inform them about the death. Do this as soon as possible.


• Contact the motor vehicles department, requesting the cancellation of the driver’s license.


• Shred any important documents which hold the deceased person’s name such as utility bills, credit card bills, bank statements and any other similar papers.

Sadly though, these thieves aren’t only strangers but may be other family members. Take the recent case of a Utah County man, David Frank Pflegl. In 1987, David Frank Pfegl II was killed in a car crash in Canada at the age of 19. His father, the elder David Frank Pflegl, then used his son’s name to gain jobs, multiple licenses and even purchase a home. After a Utah investigation, Pflegl was arrested and booked in the Utah County Jail on suspicion of identity theft, communication fraud and forgery (Read the full story here).

When we’re grieving, the last thing we want to do is take care of such seemingly meaningless items of business. As hard as it may be, following these steps may prevent further pain caused by such shameless identity thieves.