Identity Theft and the Dead

Did you know that the dead can return in real life, at least on paper, thanks to the skillful hand of identity thieves? Sometimes at fault is the Death Master File, a document compiled by the Social Security Administration, which includes names, Social Security numbers and birthdates of nearly 100 million deceased Americans and is marked to be updated each week. People can access it for free through select channels on the Internet.

This file was, ironically, created as a deterrent to identity theft, the idea likely being that people who worked at financial institutions could search the database if they were iffy about an account and determine if the ‘person opening it’ was actually a thief impersonating the deceased. It has a lot of problems, though. First of all, as of June of this year, the SSA admitted that it accidentally included several thousand living people in the database. Secondly, identity thieves use it as a resource to cull the Social Security numbers of children who have passed on so that they can claim them as dependents on their tax returns.

It seems it would make sense that the SSA should just remove the database from public view, but the Freedom of Information Act prevents it from doing so. Groups have been lobbying for years for changes to be enacted, such as speedy notification if you are alive and accidentally added to the list and using truncated Social Security numbers instead of full ones in the public record. So far, according to the Republic, none of these changes have been enacted. This leaves families whose deceased relatives have had their identities stolen with sadly little recourse.

While you wouldn’t think that you would have to worry about being added to a list of deceased persons if you are alive, it is unfortunately a very real possibility. It makes it important for you to have an identity theft protection plan, since that may be the only way you will find out – before it’s too late – that this information is being used either for fraudulent tax returns or for other purposes that are just as bad or worse.

Online Gaming Site Hacked, Leaving Thousands of Credit Card Numbers at Risk

Steam, an online gaming and download site, recently released news about a hack to their forums and database which likely left thousands of encrypted credit card numbers, billing addresses, and passwords openly available for hackers to use inappropriately. While everything on the servers was encrypted, this doesn’t mean that all the Steam users are out of the woods for identity theft.

Steam is suggesting that individuals who use their service do at least two things to help protect themselves from identity theft. First, change their passwords for other services if their passwords match. Many times identity thieves will use passwords on other sites in order to hack additional accounts such as email accounts and online bank accounts. Additionally, users are encouraged to monitor the credit cards that they had linked with their account to ensure they are not being used for unauthorized purchases.

Another way to monitor accounts is to have a identity theft protection service do the hard work for you! Credit report monitoring services and identity theft protection services can help monitor all of your financial accounts and credit reports and notify you as soon as anything unusual occurs. This is a great way to have peace of mind and protect your identity.

Social Security Numbers Inadvertently Left Online for Public Searches

Wakulla County School District is notifying parents and students of a recent data breach. Almost 2,500 students from fourth through tenth grade had their personal information, including FCAT scores and Social Security numbers, posted online for approximately two months. This was entirely accidental. However, a further investigation led them to find that the file had been accessed fifteen times through public online searches, one which included the parent who found their child’s name on the site and notified the school of the incident.

Parents of Wakulla County School District students have been notified of the recent breach and are encouraged to monitor their child’s personal information to protect their data and identity. Credit protection services are also recommended as a way to monitor financial accounts and credit reports for unusual and suspicious activities.

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