Grave Robbing Through the Web

“Obituary surfing” is the phrase used to describe stealing from the dead.  While it sounds just about as low as one could go, cyber thieves have found a way to steal even more.

Before Robert Dennis passed away, he left specific instructions for his funeral service and obituary.  “When he wrote the instructions, he put in all caps, leave everything as I’ve written it!” His daughter Darby says.  When Mr. Dennis passed, his obituary was published in the paper and he was buried just two days later. 

Yet while everyone was focused on funeral arrangements and the family, no one took into account whether or not his banking account was secure.  Unfortunately, someone broke into Mr. Dennis’s bank account by using information easily gleaned from the obituary he wrote for himself. 

A spokeswoman for the Identity Theft Resource center says this is happening all of the time and the best way to prevent it is to forego offering personal information in the obituary.  Ask newspapers and funeral homes about making it password protected online so that only people who want to see it have that ability.  The less information, the better.

See Michelle Boudin, Grave Robbing Cyber Style—How to Prevent It, WCNC, Feb. 5, 2015.