Digital Death

[talon]

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2010/08/hey-banks-this-woman-is-alive.html

Because credit agencies don't require a death certificate to declare a person dead, anyone can report a death to them, and that information will filter to every agency that credit agency reports to. Coupled with typos, it's very easy for credit agencies to "kill" people who are quite healthy.

Sadly, as easily as a credit reporting agency can "kill" someone, there's very little recourse to resurrect anyone from such a digital death. It can take a decade or longer to establish one's living bona fides, and during that time, the person will be denied bank accounts, credit applications, loans, employment, and be unable to use debit cards, credit cards, or to write checks, because they will all receive incorrect information that the person using them is dead. It may even prevent them from renewing a driver's license.

Because these credit reporting agencies don't require death certificates to declare someone dead, they don't have any easy way to fix this.

If the error has not reached the Social Security administration, you can get a letter from them verifying your living status. Coupled with a letter from the police department verifying your undead status, these documents should eventually filter their way through the credit reporting system and be corrected - but it can take years.

You may never learn where the error began, only that it will go viral very quickly in the credit reporting agencies. Hopefully, the "vaccine" will spread as quickly and restore you back to digital life if you are somehow erroneously declared dead.