Credit experts: Do the dead have credit scores?

[tvguy]

I got 3....yes 3.......pre-approved credit cards offers for my mom today.
She passed away in 2013 at the age of 90.
I thought these offers were only sent after they offered did at least minimum credit checks, or at least see if the person is still alive!
Every account she ever had was closed 5 years ago.
Would seem to open the door to credit fraud to me if someone took up one of those offers.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Yep, it would be fraud if someone were to apply for a card under a name/social security number not their own. Idk at what point dead people are cleared out of the credit score systems, if ever. A fam member once signed up for general offers under a super fake name just to see what would happen... 20 years later Super Great Hunter is still getting offers from various companies, including "pre-approved" credit cards. Admittedly it's down to just a couple a year at this point.

On a practical side if you want to stop receiving the mailers call the phone number on the mailers and request to be removed from their lists.

 

[runwad]

I read somewhere ages ago that when a family member dies you should send a copy of the death certificate to all 3 credit reporting agencies so they can actually mark the file. I did that for both of my parents. I've never gotten any offers in their names.

 

[Pooh2]

My father-in-law passed in 2006 and he's still getting credit card offers and AARP mail.
I had a telemarketer call for him recently and I stated that he died years ago, the guy was horrified and offer his condolences. These databases needs some updating!

 

[tvguy]

My father-in-law passed in 2006 and he's still getting credit card offers and AARP mail.
I had a telemarketer call for him recently and I stated that he died years ago, the guy was horrified and offer his condolences. These databases needs some updating!

My dad passed away in 1967. It took 30 years for my mom to get his name off her Natural Gas company bill, and her name on. They just wouldn't do it. Finally with the changes in laws for married couples credit, my mom saying "I have been paying this dead man's bills for 30 years" and a receptive Gas Company employee to finally get his name off and her name on the account.

 

[kymom99]

My dad passed away in 1967. It took 30 years for my mom to get his name off her Natural Gas company bill, and her name on. They just wouldn't do it. Finally with the changes in laws for married couples credit, my mom saying "I have been paying this dead man's bills for 30 years" and a receptive Gas Company employee to finally get his name off and her name on the account.

Funny you should say that. My dad died in 2008. My mom got a notice a year or so later that the electric company wanted to change her meter. She was hearing impaired and so I called to set it up for her. I gave her name then said well actually I think it's under my dad's name but he has passed away. The girl on the phone said, and I'm not exaggerating, "you are breaking the law. It's illegal to have service under someone else's name." Well she got an A+ for compassion, didn't she? My brother in law said I should have started crying. My brother called to have the service changed to her name and they wanted $250 because she had never had service with them before. The woman was 80 years old and had been a customer for at least 55 years. Crazy. Just head scratching ridiculous. I think they finally agreed to waive the fee.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I read somewhere ages ago that when a family member dies you should send a copy of the death certificate to all 3 credit reporting agencies so they can actually mark the file. I did that for both of my parents. I've never gotten any offers in their names.

That's what I've always read.

 

[supersnoop]

I’d be more worried that someone is fraudulently using her credit, which is creating activity and initiating the offers.

 

[Poohlove]

I get preapproved credit offers all the time (according to the outside of the envelopes anyways) for the deceased husband of the woman I bought my house from 3 years ago. I am not sure of when he passed but I have always thought it was odd.

 

[tvguy]

I’d be more worried that someone is fraudulently using her credit, which is creating activity and initiating the offers.

Interesting. I looked it up. It's called "Ghosting". Good news is, the family can't be help responsible.
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-03-2013/protecting-the-dead-from-identity-theft.html

 

[miztressuz]

I read somewhere ages ago that when a family member dies you should send a copy of the death certificate to all 3 credit reporting agencies so they can actually mark the file. I did that for both of my parents. I've never gotten any offers in their names.

That's probably why we still get offers for my grandmother who passed away nearly 40 years ago but no one else in the family. Sounds like something my grandfather never thought to do, but we did that for everyone else who passed and we don't get any important mail for them. (though occasionally some take out menus show up.... ) I could probably call them all up and get it marked but at this point it's kind of humorous and she doesn't get any pre-approved credit offers so it's probably harmless. We always just found it odd that it's only her that gets mail but she's been deceased the longest!

 

[supersnoop]

They should be marked as deceased in the social security database, which should be picked up by the credit bureaus.

 

[runwad]

They should be marked as deceased in the social security database, which should be picked up by the credit bureaus.

Ha! You would think, but that makes too much sense. Social Security kept paying my mom for 6 mos after she was dead. I'd call get the run around. Guess there are 2 computers when it comes to SS and they don't talk to each other, so even though the one saw my moms death certificate, the other didn't and kept paying her. Made me nervous.

Finally posted about it here and someone on the board was a higher up at the Social Security office in VA and got it fixed for me or else they'd still probably be depositing the money in the checking account. They finally sucked it all out. What a mess this world is becoming!!

 

[LovesTimone]

When my grandmother passed away my Uncle who was in charge of her finances, let the credit reporting company's know and sent in a death certificate... but there have been some offers and even a hard inquiry on her credit, so my uncle had to get a estate attorney involved to get it to stop...so now my Uncle checks monthly to see if anything weird is happening, and its been over a year now since she passed on.