After a Death: Stop Identity Theft in a Relative’s Name
Thieves can use a deceased person's identity while a family is grieving. Which notices stop that, who can send them and what to leave out of the obituary.
Nobody wants a checklist in the week after a funeral. This one is short, mostly a matter of a few letters, and you can hand it to whoever is helping with the estate. Doing it early closes a gap that thieves look for.
A person’s identity doesn’t stop being useful to criminals when they die. Experian states the problem plainly in its guide on reporting a death: only a spouse or other legally authorized person can report it, so until someone does, the file looks like any other.
The timeline
| When | Task | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Before the obituary runs | Remove birth date, mother’s maiden name, full address and other identifying details | Whoever writes it |
| First few days | Give the funeral director the Social Security number so the death can be reported | Family |
| When certified death certificates arrive | Send a deceased notice to one credit bureau | Spouse or authorized representative |
| Next few weeks | Notify banks, card issuers and lenders; request the credit report and look for unfamiliar accounts | Executor or spouse |
| Tax season | File the final federal return | Executor or tax preparer |
| Following year | Close email, phone and shopping accounts on your schedule | Family |
The obituary
The IRS’s identity theft guide says to “avoid putting too much information in an obituary that identity thieves could use.” You can honor someone completely without a date of birth or home address. A year of birth, or just an age, is enough.
Social Security
Experian notes that funeral homes often report a death to the Social Security Administration if you provide the number, and that you can also report it yourself at 800-772-1213. California’s Department of Justice gives the same number in its fact sheet on identity theft and the deceased. If your family handled the arrangements without a funeral home, make that call yourself.
The credit bureaus: one notice is usually enough
You generally don’t need to write to all three. Equifax’s help page says notifying one adds a deceased notice and that the bureau passes it to the other two. Experian’s guide says the same.
Who can ask
A spouse or legally authorized representative. If you are not the spouse, Experian and Equifax both want court documents showing your authority.
What Equifax asks for
A copy of the death certificate, the person’s legal name, Social Security number, birth and death dates, plus your name, mailing address and a copy of your ID.
Where to send
Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 105139, Atlanta, GA 30348-5139. Experian accepts uploads or mail to P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013. Confirm before mailing.
Experian says not to provide the original death certificate, so order enough certified copies at the start. Banks, insurers and pension providers may each want one. Ask for a copy of the person’s credit report at the same time. It doubles as an inventory of accounts you may not know about.
Banks, cards and lenders
Contact each institution using a statement or the number on the card. Ask what it needs to close or transfer the account. California’s fact sheet also explains what to do if you get calls about an account opened or used after death: write to the creditor or collection agency, enclose a copy of the death certificate and proof of your authority, say the account was opened or used fraudulently, and ask them to close it, stop collection and record the death on the account.
The IRS
The IRS guide tells families to “file the deceased person’s final tax return(s) when due” and to ask credit bureaus for a “deceased alert.” The IRS says Form 14039, the Identity Theft Affidavit, can be filed for another person, including a deceased person, while noting that most people don’t need to file it and listing specific situations when it applies. If a family member’s IP PIN was in use, ask your tax preparer how that applies to the final return. Our IP PIN guide covers the program itself.
Digital accounts
Email is the one to handle carefully, because password resets for almost everything else go there. Don’t delete it in the first weeks if you still need it to find bills and subscriptions. Keep it open and secure, then close it once the estate is settled. Our guide to closing old accounts shows the general process, though each platform has its own policy for a person who has died and may want documentation. Family members can protect their own records with our my Social Security guide.
If you find something wrong
Report it to the credit bureaus, the company involved and the police. IdentityTheft.gov is the FTC’s reporting site, and California’s fact sheet recommends keeping copies of everything you send. Fraud discovered after a death doesn’t reflect on the family. It often shows up only because someone finally looked.
Who should hold this list
Grief makes people more trusting of anyone who sounds official. Give one person the job of handling these notices and the phone calls that follow, and tell the rest of the family to pass any contact to that person. It takes pressure off a surviving spouse and means no one answers a stranger’s question alone.
What to keep in one folder
Certified death certificates, proof of your authority, the credit report you requested, and a dated list of who you notified and how. When a company later says it never heard from you, that list answers the question in a minute.