Are people really scanning obituaries and committing identity theft?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Writing my deceased relative’s obituary and I was told to be careful with sharing too many details that could cause relatives to experience identity theft.

How would this actually cause identity theft?

I’ve always seen the decedents family state/town is listed and their names. Ex: A sister Marion Jones (Barry), of Great Falls, Idaho.

Is this a valid/real concern or fear mongering?

That's a scam that has been going on for hundreds of years, even thousands.

Dead people, especially younger ones, are great for creating a new identity.

[Anonymous]

I think this confirms my decision not to post an obituary of a recently passed family member.

[Anonymous]

Just don't run an obit. No one but scammers read them anyway.

[Anonymous]

You can find out a lot about people beyond obits.

I didn't think they used mother's maiden name as a security question anymore because it's so easy to find out the answer. I didn't change my name upon marriage so the answer to that question for my kids is my actual name.

[Anonymous]

One of my elderly aunts was the victim of a break-in after her husband died. Our theory is that the criminals knew she would be home alone after his death because his obit listed their kids and where they lived, which was out of state.

They literally went to her home during the daylight hours and muscled their way into her home and stole from her.

So, yeah, criminals do read obits and use that information to commit crimes. It's especially cruel.

[Anonymous]

I read obits and then google the names for more info/addresses/jobs just to see.