At the end of last year, when Jonathan Ravelin went to log in to his online bank, he was told that he was considered dead and could no longer access his accounts, BankID, or other services necessary to make everyday life work.
In November, the Swedish Tax Agency had incorrectly registered him as deceased and then passed on this incorrect information to authorities and other actors, putting Jonathan in a difficult situation.
– It took six weeks before I got everything fixed and could get my bank ID back, he told the Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
In his case, it involved someone submitting a forged death certificate to the authorities, and although a report for document forgery has been filed, Jonathan has also decided to sue the state for SEK 20,000, as he feels his rights have been violated.
– I’m going to the district court to get the law changed so that this doesn’t happen to more people, he explains.
– GDPR states that the data processed by authorities must be accurate, and we argue that it cannot be correct for him to be listed as deceased when he is alive, says Alexandra Loyd, administrative director at the Center for Justice, which is handling the case.
Easy to falsify
Once the Swedish Tax Agency realized that the declaration of death was not correct, they did not bother to send out a correction to all actors who had received the incorrect information – instead, this was something that Jonathan had to call around, sit in meetings and fix on his own.
It can be noted that the number of incorrectly registered deceased at the Swedish Tax Agency has increased from 16 to 27 people in one year, but it is unclear why.
Although most death certificates are now submitted digitally, it is still possible to mail a physical form to the agency, a document that is considered very easy to falsify – but anyone caught risks two years in prison for forgery.