I Don't Even Want to Write This

I was at a presentation for work, a few years ago. A member of the RCMP was presenting, and talking about the ways in which criminals could steal identity.

There are, for your information, a lot of different ways to steal identity. Your mail, information contained on a 3rd party computer, and yes, from the dead. Including dead children. Gone are the days when thieves troll graveyards, now they use the Internet.

Obituaries. Notices, news paper stories, and I would imagine, our blogs. I have seen a few photo's in the last few weeks of babies' tombstones. My heart breaks at having to say this. It, literally, leaves me feeling sick. But there are names and dates on those photo's.

It's probably not a good idea to put up those photo's, on an non-password protected post. It's a lot of information. That could be used for purposes that you aren't completely expecting.

In theory, most jurisdictions now have "deceased" stamped on birth certificates of the deceased. In theory. And in theory, most places will link their birth certificates and their death certificates. In theory.

In practice, it's very easy to use the information from a dead child to get a birth certificate, and then to get a SIN, and then away you go.

Is it common? No, probably not. Although a search of the Internet indicates that it does happen.

I'm sorry. It just seems wrong that I should even be writing about this.