I have to admit, I did not know that once you die your social security number becomes a matter of public record. It seems that the Social Security Administration publishes these numbers once someone dies.
The government actually sells subscriptions for access to this information. Below is the description from Social Security Death Master File website: http://www.ssdmf.com
The Death Master File (DMF) from the Social Security Administration (SSA) contains over 86 million records created from SSA payment records. This file includes the following information on each decedent, if the data are available to the SSA: social security number, name, date of birth, date of death. The SSA does not have a death record for all persons; therefore, SSA does not guarantee the veracity of the file. Thus, the absence of a particular person is not proof this person is alive.
So yes the government has created a loophole for both death and taxes. This information can cause tax problems from the grave. I have read about a couple of cases in which a child has passed away and someone other than the family had stolen the social security information and claimed them as a dependent. So when the grieving family went to file their tax return was rejected, because of duplicate social security numbers. This may take years to straighten out.
Now being too cheap to buy a subscription, I called a client who works as a reference librarian and she stated that if I have a library card I could access the information for free through the library’s subscription at Genealogy Bank.
Now think about this, I am still getting mail for my father who pasted decades ago, so how difficult would it be to create fictitious tax returns, credit card applications, or some other way of monetizing the dead by having them raise from the grave. Hell when my dad died I saw that he was still registered to vote; in the old neighborhood no one ever asked for ID so he may still be voting in Cook County, remember vote early and often. Probably cancelling out my vote.
Identity theft is an ongoing issue and will continue to be one; publishing social security numbers just keeps the issue going even after we are at our final resting place. Leaving the family to continue to clean everything up forever.