I can think of an example of how that might happen. Say John Doe was born in 1900 and got a Social Security number in 1935. Then, he died in 1938, having never been married or had children.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the unidentified man being called John Doe of ... It is alleged that Doe used the name, date of birth and Social Security number of a person who died ...

The Braintree resident officially known as “John Doe” was arrested last year ... date of birth, Social Security number and parental information. Investigators learned Doe had used that ...

John Doe, also known as “Truong Nguyen ... For the application, Doe provided the victim’s date of birth and Social Security number, a copy of the victim’s U.S. birth certificate, as ...