Social media accounts may be taken over by cybercriminals after the owner's death – NASK warns in a press release. The aim of the fraudsters is to arouse concern among the deceased's relatives and then extort money in exchange for returning access to the profile.
According to Washington National, online fraudsters steal the identities of 2.5 million Americans each year. Thanks to information obtained from the websites of funeral homes, hospitals or obituaries posted online, they open bank accounts, take out loans or obtain insurance funds.
According to the Scientific and Academic Computer Network (NASK), the threats we may face in Poland are equally serious.
Experts point out that after the death of its owner, a social media account becomes an important souvenir for his or her relatives and friends. Cyber ​​fraudsters who break into such an account and then start using it are aware of the sentimental value of the collected photos and entries.
They publish posts and send friend requests. The aim is to arouse anxiety among family members and friends of the deceased and to violate the memory of him – this happens especially when the fraudster publishes, for example, content considered controversial. In exchange for the return of access to the account, the perpetrators make demands – usually financial ones.
NASK advises you to take care of your “digital identity” while you are still alive. For example, a portal Facebook allows you to designate an account managerand also to decide what will happen to our profile after death – whether it should be deleted or whether it should be given the “In memoriam” status. In turn, a Google user can indicate people who will be informed about it or will gain access to some of the account data in the event of inactivity on their part.
Deleting the deceased's account on the Internet
If we do not use similar solutions in our lifetime, our loved ones may decide about the future of our digital identity. To inform the portal manager of a user's death, a death certificate is usually neededobituary or other document confirming his death.
The “In memoriam” status on Facebook gives the account manager the opportunity to manage it – e.g., deciding whether to admit new people to the group of friends or who has access to published posts.
As a rule, however, the deceased's relatives do not receive access to the data contained in the account (the exception is when we submit a court order to Facebook). On LinkedIn, “In memoriam” means preserving all information about the deceased, but it is impossible to interact with his or her profile (e.g. through an invitation to contact).
If we decide to delete a deceased person's account, all data they have collected will be permanently deleted and erased. Facebook gives itself a maximum of 90 days for this type of action, LinkedIn – 21, and Google informs in its Privacy Policy that it does it “immediately”.
As NASK emphasizes, nowadays profiles of people who have passed away are treated as “virtual tombstones” that gather the deceased's relatives and friends who want to show remembrance and respect, e.g. on the occasion of the anniversary of birth or death. For this reason, placing controversial or mocking content on the profile may be considered by his relatives as a violation of their right to worship a dead person.
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