There’s technically no law against faking your own death, but it’s usually impossible to pull off without committing other crimes. For example, creating a fake identity is considered identity fraud. Cashing in on your life insurance policy after faking your death is insurance fraud. Committing pseudocide to avoid legal problems is also illegal.
People often get caught because they do this in a rush. The more time someone has to carefully map out the logistics of their plan and their new life, the better their chances of succeeding.
How much cash you’d want to have on hand depends on what type of new life you’d want to lead. People who disappear and live simple lives off the grid don’t need as much cash as those who attempt to maintain their same lifestyle. You would need to ask yourself: where do I plan on living? How much would it cost to feed myself and to buy basic necessities? Getting a job is hard (but not impossible) after faking your own death, so you’d need to have a decent amount of cash to get you through until you find a source of income.
Faking an accidental death, like staging a drowning or disappearing on a hike, would likely be the easiest option. No fake death is foolproof though. If law enforcement discovered any financial, legal, or marital problems during their investigation into someone’s disappearance, that could look suspicious, especially since they wouldn’t be finding their body anywhere.
Generally, the less money and fewer assets you have, the less likely your disappearance will raise suspicions.
There are black markets for fake identities and forged documents in less developed countries, but that can be a slow, costly (around six figures) process, according to investigators with experience dealing with pseudocide cases. That’s usually not affordable for the average person who’s trying to fake their own death. [8] X Research source
Completely cutting off contact with family and friends can be difficult for a lot of people. Marcus Schrenker, a former money manager from Indianapolis who staged a plane crash in 2009, was caught by authorities just 2 days after faking his death because he emailed a friend. [10] X Research source You wouldn’t even want to look yourself up online after staging your death. Patrick McDermott, who faked his own drowning on a fishing trip, was caught after googling himself and regularly visiting his memorial page on Facebook. The cluster of IP addresses he used in Mexico tipped off investigators. [11] X Research source
You wouldn’t be able to use any of your degrees or professional certifications in your new life, so you’d likely be looking for odd jobs that pay cash or someone who is willing to pay their employees off the books.
