Stranger steals identity of grieving Wash. couple's dead baby

A local couple is outraged after finding out their daughter is being claimed as a tax write-off by a total stranger.

Adding insult to injury - the baby is dead. The Whatcom County couple is still grieving.

They contacted the Problem Solvers after the Internal Revenue Service rejected their electronic tax return. Jessica Struthers says she feels violated.

"Because this is our daughter that has passed away," she said, fighting back tears.

Last August, her 21-month-old daughter Ava drowned in the family's above-ground swimming pool in Blaine. The toddler's death made headlines, and left a huge wound for the couple and their two other children.

That wound was torn open when father Matt Bock filed his 2009 taxes - then got a call from the tax preparer.

"My return had been rejected, and that somebody else had claimed my daughter."

Matt says the stranger who claimed Ava, didn't just use her social security number - they also used her name and birthdate. But because of privacy laws, Matt could not get any information about the person who used his daughter's private information.

Child I.D. theft cases are turning up across the country. Social security numbers of children, including dead children, continue to be a hidden source of I.D. theft. According to the federal government a shocking number of claims filed for the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit used social security numbers tied to kids.

Matt and Jessica are left to only guess who stole the identity of their Ava.

"Since she passed away, the only people who have access to her social security number were the hospital, the coroner and I believe the coroner forwarded over the information to the funeral home," said Matt.
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