A notification on a person's credit report that alerts credit agencies that the person is deceased and should not be issued credit in the future. Upon a person's death, a family member or friend must request the credit reporting agencies to send out the deceased alert. The purpose of the deceased alert is to prevent identity thieves from stealing and abusing the name of the deceased person.

While it is unfortunate that such measures need to be taken after a person has passed away, doing so will reduce the risk of identity thieves preying upon the personal records of the deceased party. And identity thieves can cause serious financial damage, for which the estate of the deceased may have to pay to remedy.