10/08/2026
📋 Scammers read obituaries, and the reason is simple: a death notice publishes the exact facts a bank uses to prove who someone is.
Date of birth, hometown, maiden name, mother's maiden name, the street the person lived on. With a few of those, a criminal can buy the rest, including the Social Security number, on the dark web.
Then they open accounts, take out loans, or file a tax return in the name of someone who can no longer object.
It works for two reasons, per AARP's Fraud Watch Network. The victim cannot check a credit report, so fraud can run for months. And the survivor is grieving, which is exactly when a caller posing as a debt collector or an insurance agent gets a yes.
There is a third, cruder version: a funeral date and time in the notice tells a burglar when the house will be empty.
Seven details to leave out of the obituary you write: the exact birth date, the place of birth, the middle name, the maiden name, the mother's maiden name, the home address, and the funeral time.
Leaving them out does not empty the obituary. The life story, the work, the people who loved them, and the town they called home all stay. Naming parents by first name only keeps both maiden names out of print.
For the service time, share it by phone, text, or email. Or publish it and ask a neighbor or someone from church to stay at the house during the service, an old custom that exists for exactly this reason.
The first week after a death closes the other doors. The funeral home usually reports the death to Social Security; confirm it did, and call Social Security yourself if it did not. Send the IRS a copy of the death certificate, notify every bank, and ask Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to add a deceased notice to the credit file.
Pull the credit report right away and again a few months later. A new account or credit application after the date of death is a red flag.
One limitation: a long-lost friend or relative who surfaces after a death is not always a scammer. Ask family who knew the person before you share anything, and treat any conversation that turns to money as the tell.
Did you know any of this when you wrote an obituary for someone, and what would you leave out now?
P.S. Once a week, I email the best money article I read, with my take on this week's top Facebook posts and what's new on the Ways to Wealth blog. It's free, and you can sign up on the Ways to Wealth home page.
R.J. Weiss, CFP®
The content shared here is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not personalized investment, tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a licensed professional before making decisions based on your specific situation.
