Records of the recently deceased are to be shared with law enforcement and credit agencies in the government's latest attempt to wipe out identity theft.
As part of a government backed drive to crack down on identity theft, details of all deaths in the UK will now be released on a weekly basis.
It is hoped that this move will help eliminate Impersonation of the Deceased (IOD) fraud which is currently one of the fastest growing forms of identity theft afflicting the UK.
The information is set to be released to select organisations as part of a partnership between the Registrars General for England & Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Any organisation can apply to receive the data, however they will have to undergo strict vetting procedures and agree to operate in accordance with a stringent licensing agreement before the highly sensitive information will be shared.
Credit reference agency, Experian, Tracesmart Ltd and Faraday Tracing Bureau are among the first companies who have been approved to receive the approximated 12,000 death records a week.
While details of the recently deceased are already made publicly available, until now there has been no way for law and credit agencies to easily draw on this information in their attempts to crack down on identity theft. As a consequence, fraudsters have been able to impersonate the deceased when liaising with financial institutions, using details displayed in obituaries to obtain credit and operate existing accounts.
Sharing information in this manner will ensure that the relevant agencies have the power to protect the assets, identities and families of the recently deceased.
Home Office Minister Meg Hillier has praised the initiative, commenting:
"Identity fraud continues to be a serious problem which we know helps enable other criminal activity such as benefit fraud, illegal immigration, illegal working, drug trafficking and terrorism."
"I welcome the release of death records which will not only help to combat identity fraud but will also reduce the impact on relatives of the deceased forced to deal with the consequence of their loved ones' identities being stolen."
It is approximated that over 100,000 cases of IOD fraud occur in Britain every year, contributing significantly to the £1.7billion annual price tag that identity theft costs the UK. The scheme, which has been launched to co-incide with National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, will be reviewed in 2009 to ensure that it is actively helping to reduce this figure.
