Miss. woman finds out she `died' in December.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

GULFPORT, Miss. _ Zelma Belt Brooks learned earlier this month that she supposedly died Dec. 7.

Federal agencies on Friday were trying to correct a mistake that stopped benefits for the 79-year-old Pass Christian, Miss., woman, who was believed to be dead because of a computer error.

Although the mistake is being corrected, Brooks is angry and frustrated because she was "nearly broke" for a week and was still trying to get medications Friday that she had not been able to afford.

The mistake occurred when a woman with a similar name and Social Security number died in another state, said Steve Helms, district manager of the Social Security office in Gulfport.

Funeral homes and hospitals report deaths to Social Security as a fraud prevention, he said. Helms said the mistake occurred in another state.

"I don't know whether the funeral home gave the wrong information or a data-entry person typed it wrong," he said, "but we're doing everything we can to correct it.

"We handle over 40,000 checks a month out of our office, and mistakes like this are rare. But it happened. I don't blame her for being upset."