Details of everyone who has died in the UK are to be released in an attempt to prevent their use in identity fraud.
Encrypted files containing the information would be sent every week to vetted organisations, including credit agencies, the government said.
The move aims to stop the use of obituaries to create false identities to open bank accounts, commit benefit fraud or aid illegal immigration.
It is thought identity fraud costs the UK in the region of £1.7bn every year.
Information will be released on about 12,000 people a week via the General Register Office for England & Wales and its Scottish and Northern Irish counterparts.
"Identity fraud is serious, and no-one should be complacent about it"
The data will be sent to credit checking firms who have applied to receive the information.
Meg Hillier, Home Office minister with responsibility for identity fraud, welcomed the initiative.
She said the release would "not only help to combat identity fraud, but will also reduce the impact on relatives of the deceased forced to deal with the consequence of their loved ones' identities being stolen".
'Threads of deception'
Peter Hurst, chief executive of Cifas the UK's fraud frevention service, said: "The number of individuals affected continues to be far too high."
He added: "Identity fraud is serious, and no-one should be complacent about it. Quite apart from financial losses, the effect on victims can be very distressing.
"Where a victim's identity has been seriously compromised, it can be an extremely time consuming and frustrating process to untangle the threads of deception."
The announcement coincides with the start of National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, a government-backed awareness drive to warn of the risks of ID fraud.
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