Faked death

A faked death, also called a staged death, is the act of an individual purposely deceiving other people into believing that the individual is dead, when the person is, in fact, still alive. The faking of one's own death by suicide is sometimes referred to as pseuicide or pseudocide.^[1] People who commit pseudocide can do so by leaving evidence, clues, or through other methods.^[2][3][4] Death hoaxes can also be created and spread solely by third-parties for various purposes.

Committing pseudocide may be done for a variety of reasons, such as to fraudulently collect insurance money, to evade pursuit, to escape from captivity, to arouse false sympathy, or as a practical joke.

While faking one's own death is not inherently illegal, it may be part of a fraudulent or illicit activity such as tax evasion, insurance fraud,^[5]: 12 or avoiding a criminal prosecution.