What Not To Put in an Obituary (Protect Your Family From Scams)
An obituary is a public document, and some people read obituaries for the wrong reasons. Identity thieves use them to open accounts in the name of someone who has died, and burglars have been known to target homes during funerals. A few small choices protect your family.
Leave these out
- Full date of birth. Combined with a name and city, it is one of the key pieces of information used to impersonate someone. Use the age instead ("Mary Smith, 82, of Tulsa").
- Home address. The city or town is enough.
- Mother's maiden name. It is still used as a security question by some institutions. "Daughter of John and Anne Smith" is fine; adding "née Jones" for the mother is not necessary.
- Middle name plus birth date plus birthplace together. Each alone is fine; all three together make a fuller identity profile.
- Exactly when the house will be empty. If you publish the service time, consider asking a friend or neighbor to stay at the home during it.
Other things families sometimes regret
- Cause of death, if the person would have wanted privacy. It's entirely optional.
- Family conflicts ("estranged son"). Leave estrangement out; the obituary will outlive the argument.
- Too many names. Long lists of every cousin are expensive in print. "Many nieces, nephews and cousins" is common and kind.
- Unchecked spellings. Have two people check names, places and dates.
What to do in the weeks after
Obituaries are only one route identity thieves use. After a death, it's wise to ask the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to place a deceased indicator on the person's credit file, and to make sure Social Security has been notified (funeral homes usually do this). The executor typically handles this with a death certificate; the After-Loss Admin Kit includes a letter template for the credit bureaus.
A safe obituary, in one line
"Thomas Reed, 78, of Spokane, died on May 2. A retired machinist and lifelong Mariners fan, he is survived by..."
Name, age, city, date, life, family, service. That's all an obituary needs. For a complete walkthrough, see how to write an obituary.
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