A new scheme has been introduced that is aimed at reducing the risk of fraud against people that have passed away. Fraudsters often target those that have recently died, reading up on obituaries, finding out as much as possible about the person, and then posing as them either on the phone or by letter in order to commit fraud. This can include anything from taking money from accounts to opening new accounts in their name or ordering goods in their name.

According to a recent report the new initiative is designed to help banks, credit reference agencies, and other relevant agencies or firms to identify when someone has died, and therefore avoid falling for fraudster pretending to be the decedent. Agencies and firm, such as credit agencies and law enforcement agencies, will be able to use the scheme as of April, but there will be fees charged both for application for the scheme and for annual subscriptions.

The scheme will involve passing information about people that have died on to registered agencies, which will be thoroughly vetted before being allowed to join the scheme. The information will be released by the Registrars General for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and will be sent by secure courier on a weekly basis to the membership agencies.

One official stated: ‘We anticipate there will be quite a bit of interest from the financial sector from organisations such as credit reference agencies and commercial organisations who have fraud committed against them.’
The list will be a weekly one containing the details of all those that have died that week, and agencies can then amend their records accordingly, hopefully before any fraud is committed.

The fee for applications will be £5000 according to the report, and after that there will be an annual fee of £57,000 for those that are successful. However, agencies that apply to join will be checked out thoroughly before membership is granted.

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