Social Security wrongly declares 14,000 people dead each yearIf you find you've been declared dead in the Social Securit (legal, regular)

[Walter Greenspan]

If you find you've been declared dead in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), pinch yourself to test for accuracy.

Erroneous death entries do slip through. A recent news article, Social Security mistakenly reports thousands of deaths , concludes that one in every two hundred entries are entered incorrectly.

According to Social Security mistakenly reports thousands of deaths, to avoid the financial hardship or risk of identity theft as a result of being named to the Social Security's death list, the Identity Theft Resource Center recommends that you do the following:

First, find out who reported you as dead.

Then, get a copy of your death certificate from the county clerk's or recorder's office where the death was reported, and fill out a form to amend the certificate. The death certificate will include the name of whoever reported your death. This person is typically contacted to sign the amendment as well.

To remove your name from the database, you need to make an appointment at your local Social Security office. Bring a photo ID and the certified copy of the amended death certificate, the ITRC said.

[freemkt]

And do it ASAP because benefits you don't receive while you're "dead" are lost forever and you never receive them.

I wonder if you can successfully sue the person who reported you dead in order to recover lost benefits.

[Drover]

[nimchimpsky]

I got reported dead on March 17, 2011 and had to go to social security twice to show I was still alive and to prove my identity. They asked me to sign a paper that says I'm alive and well and then asked me nine million questions to make sure I wasn't another person engaging in identity theft. I'm lucky because the only reason I found out is because I applied for a new passport and they had come across my online obituary.

[Cunucu Beach]

Originally Posted by nimchimpsky

I got reported dead on March 17, 2011 and had to go to social security twice to show I was still alive and to prove my identity. They asked me to sign a paper that says I'm alive and well and then asked me nine million questions to make sure I wasn't another person engaging in identity theft. I'm lucky because the only reason I found out is because I applied for a new passport and they had come across my online obituary.

Holy cow!! I wonder if they cross reference all passport applications that way.

[nimchimpsky]

Originally Posted by Cunucu Beach

Holy cow!! I wonder if they cross reference all passport applications that way.

The even scarier part is I asked for a new ID at the DMV during the period of time I was supposedly dead and had no problems. Then they gave me a driver's license even though I was still on file as legally blind, and didn't ask for any medical documentation, or even give me a vision test. (Don't worry--I don't carry the license in my wallet, I just hold onto it as, shall we say, a souvenir.) On top of that, I was still getting mail from SSA--in braille--asking if I wanted to reopen my SSI case--you know, the I got accepted for on the basis of blindness.

When it comes to our government, it seems to me like the left arm doesn't know what the right arm is doing, and vice versa. The only people that seemed capable of tying all the loose ends together was the passport agency. Trust me, they were confused. You should have heard the guy on the phone when he called my dad offering his condolences and my dad handed the phone right over to me!

Me: Hello?
Passport Agent: N...Nim Chimpsky?
Me: Yes.
PA: This is Nim Chimpsky?
Me: Yes.
PA: Wow, well to be honest, we thought you were dead.
Me: Why would you think that?
PA: Oh, well we did a Google search, and your obituary came up.

Needless to say I found my own obituary online, and so then I emailed the obituary company. They told me they get their information directly from Social Security so I went to the SSA and they were completely confused! First of all I was still on file as deaf-blind so they were totally confused that I could hear and kept referring me to the SSA branch near the deaf school in D.C. After I told them about 5 times that I can indeed hear them now which is how I am replying, I had to sign the paper.

Then I had to go back with the passport agent because apparently the paper wasn't enough and that's when they interrogated me. I managed to convince them that it was indeed me because I pointed out that with my medical history it would be pretty hard to impersonate me! (The passport agent had done an extensive background search on me and showed SSA.) Lol. Then they finally realized someone messed up and reported me alive and well.

I think what happened was that when I ran away from NC people thought I died because I almost died so many times when I was living there. I was the famous deaf-blind pedestrian in the police station because they got several calls a day from concerned drivers who thought I was lost and in need of help. After about three times of cops coming up to me and offering me rides, I told them I was fine and they learned my regular route. It got to a point where I could recognize any cop just by touching their hand and knew them by name. That said, I did almost get hit by a car many times. When I ran away, it must have appeared that I suddenly disappeared, so I guess after a few weeks they just assumed I was dead.

[arctichomesteader]

Apparently my father was dead a few years ago, but it was only temporary...it was apparently quite difficult convincing the government he was still alive, even though he worked for the (state) government...