Dead But Alive

Recently, I was reading some information on msnbc and came across and interesting story about many people being claimed dead on paper, but they are actually alive. I have never really thought about this until I read this article, but it seems so easy to be mistaken. As I was reading the article, I read that the social security office can claim someone else dead by using the wrong social security number. That is so easy to mistake. Social security numbers are so similar, and it is very easy to mix up numbers. MSN BC said thousands of people are experiencing this problem. In the article a woman named Laura Todd has been dealing with this problem for the last eight years. Her electronic tax return was rejected because of the mix up. She will not be able to receive her tax refund. Also Mrs. Todd’s healthcare was canceled, and her bank cancelled her credit card account. Her whole struggle began when someone in Florida died, and her social security number was typed in. Another example used was Toni Anderson who supposedly died when someone pressed the wrong button, making the records say it was she, not her husband John. The social security even sent a letter saying “Dear Mr. Anderson, our condolences on the loss of Mrs. Anderson.” This is really crazy that someone could be pronounced dead just because of someone typing in the wrong number or pressing the wrong button. It’s interesting to see who controls our deaths (on paper anyway). I thought I would share this story because it’s pathetic to see what can happen from a simple mistake.