Death records move to beat identity theft

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Since September, the General Register Office has released about 140,000 death certificates to prevent criminals from using information from obituaries to open bank accounts under false names and to ensure families are not claiming benefits on behalf of their dead relatives.

Four credit-checking firms have been vetted to receive the data. Each week, they are sent encrypted files giving details of everyone who has died in the UK.

The data is then checked against applications for loans and credit cards, insurance payouts and pensions to guard against fraud.

One woman was discovered to be claiming her aunt's pension to pay off her mortgage a decade after the aunt's death.

An estimated one in 400 pensions continues to be paid out following the death of the policyholder while the cost of identity theft to the UK economy is thought to be in the region of £1.7 billion each year.