Beneficiary Plan

There is no greater tragedy than the loss of a loved one… This time can be emotionally draining — between making arrangements and grieving, most people cannot bring themselves to contemplate that their deceased loved one can be used as a lucrative source of information for crooks. The last thing family members and friends should have to deal with while mourning the loss of a loved one is repairing damage done by an identity thief stealing and using their loved one’s financial information to drain their estate of all of its assets. But sadly, the crime of stealing one’s identity by impersonating the dead is on the rise…

Almost 10 months after the World Trade Center attack, a widow found out that an identity clone had been living and working using her husband’s information. He had died during the attack.

A mother keeps receiving collection notices on her daughter’s credit card accounts. Her daughter died 17 years ago.

Still grieving their toddler’s death, two young parents find out that the IRS has rejected their tax form, saying that someone else has already filed a return listing their child as a dependent.

Identity thieves obtain information about deceased individuals in various ways. They may watch the obituaries, steal death certificates, or even get the information from websites that offer a Social Security Death Index file.

The problem is that financial institutions are not immediately made aware that their customer is deceased. It takes time for the Social Security Administration to transmit the Death Master File to the financial industry. Until the institution receives word that the individual is deceased, the account remains active.

An active credit file will stay open for up to 10 years without activity. Thieves count on this and may try to attach onto the SSN of a deceased because of the length of time until discovery.

Everyone with a SSN is a potential victim — from a newborn on.

How does this happen? In one documented case, three people were arrested for stealing the identities of more than 100 deceased individuals.  One of the alleged perpetrators worked in a hospital emergency room and would send text messages containing the personal identifying information of dying patients to her grown son.  Her son and his wife would then apply for credit cards using the deceased's information.  The alleged perpetrators would also look in the obituaries for information and then use the hospital's database to research information on the deceased.  The recently deceased were apparently targeted because their names and information did not yet appear on lists sent to financial institutions notifying them of the deaths of consumers.   Such identity thieves look for pertinent information in obituaries such as birthday, current residence and even the name of the hospital where a person died. Then thieves check the database of the hospital to get more information (like social security numbers) so they can more easily pose as the person. These thieves also check out the Social Security Death index so they can target newly dead victims and steal their identities. Some identity thieves do this so they can simply defraud the dead person and make some quick cash. Others are looking to actually assume a new identity and want to pose as the deceased person to avoid illegal immigration and other legal hassles they may currently be facing. In some cases, the identity thieves may even be family members who felt jilted by the way the assets were divided or who was in financial straights and wanted out.

The Beneficiary Assistance program was designed to be attached to life insurance policies, long term care insurance policies as well as to health and welfare funds, and can even be sold through funeral homes and crematories. It is simply protection against theft of a deceased’s identity while assisting the survivor with certain administrative and bureaucratic issues attached to a loved one’s death. In short, the program could eliminate or decrease a big part of the stress accompanying such an occurrence while also protecting them from the potential threat of an identity theft.  Some identity thieves do this so they can simply defraud the dead person and make some quick cash. Others are looking to actually assume a new identity and want to pose as the deceased person to avoid illegal immigration and other legal hassles they may currently be facing. In some cases, the identity thieves may even be family members who felt jilted by the way the assets were divided or who was in financial straights and wanted out.  

The Beneficiary Assistance product provides services that:

• can provide help to the subscriber’s beneficiary by providing assistance to effectively and quickly take care of many administrative tasks, and provide support and suggestions to reduce frustration and confusion; and
• incorporate certain identity theft prevention and resolution services.

Upon death, Beneficiary Assistance will:

INFORM Informative Website Planning booklet

ASSIST Obtaining Death Certificates. Notifications to SSA, Creditors/Agencies, DMV, etc. Contact all credit bureaus and place a “deceased” alert on the credit reports. Surviving spouse or other joint account holders, notify the credit bureaus that the account needs to be listed in that surviving person’s name alone. Notify relevant credit card companies, banks, stockbrokers, loan/lien holders and mortgage companies of the death. Notify 3rd party vendors and close accounts. Notify relevant institutions: Social Security Administration Any membership programs — video rental, public library, fitness club, etc. Other Insurance companies — auto, health, life, etc. Veteran’s Administration — if the person was a former member of the military Immigration Services — if the decedent is not a U.S. citizen Department of Motor Vehicles — if the person had a driver’s license or state ID card. Agencies that may be involved due to professional licenses — bar association, medical licenses, cosmetician, etc. Provide full and complete Platinum restoration services in the event of an identity compromise.