Stacy Francis Featured Article on Forbes About How Widows Can Be Protected From Identity Theft
By: Stacy Francis
April 6, 2022
Stacy Francis, President and CEO of Francis Financial shares the six ways you can protect yourself from identity theft if you have recently lost your spouse.
There’s so much to think about when you lose a spouse. Even though your mind may constantly be on your spouse—which is totally normal—it’s important to make time to protect your financial future. One of the ways is to protect your deceased spouse—and by extension, yourself—from identity theft.
After your spouse dies, there will be a lag time before government entities and other financial institutions update their files, which opens up a window of opportunity for identity thieves to strike. They use deceased people’s personal information to open fraudulent credit cards, loans, tax refunds and more.
Six ways to prevent this before it even happens:
- Start with your spouse’s obituary
- Notify financial institutions
- Notify credit agencies
- Order a copy of your spouse’s credit report
- Notify the IRS
- Monitor snail mail and close email accounts
Read the full article here to learn more about each step.
Learn more about the financial planning and wealth management process and contact Francis Financial today.