Watch out for the new ‘ghost hackers’

Imagine if this happened to you. Your spouse passed away and a few weeks after the funeral, you get a message from them that says, "Hi, hope you’re having a great day." Other friends report they’re getting similar messages from your spouse. Some messages offer big returns in crypto investments.

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"Ghost hackers" have taken over your spouse’s account. It’s a sick new scam. With account owners dead and families focused on grief, the hacking is more likely to go unnoticed. It’s awful, and I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to you or someone you love.

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It’s not just trolling and ‘investments’
Ghost hackers monitor obituaries and death notices for potential targets. Then, they use their arsenal (hacking weak passwords, guessing security questions and accessing previously leaked credentials) to break in. Often, hackers leapfrog into banking and retirement accounts, making it easy to steal directly from the person who passed. 

The best offense is a good defense

I know firsthand there are a ton of administrative tasks to take care of when a close family member dies — everything from canceling cellphone plans to executing the will. This list now also needs to include memorializing or deleting their social media accounts. 

Luckily, social networks have processes in place for this. For Facebook, ask Facebook to memorialize the account. You’ll need a link to an obituary. You can also request the profile be removed. Instagram has similar steps to Facebook, and the same goes for X.

Now, take time to protect yourself

On Facebook, you can designate a legacy contact to manage your account if you die. They won’t be able to log in, read your messages or delete friends.

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Apple’s Legacy Contact is a safe, secure way to give someone access to data stored in your Apple account after you die. You can add more than one Legacy Contact, and all of them can access the account to make decisions. The person must be 13 or older.

Here’s how to set it up on your iPhone:

Finally, adjust your Google account. You probably have a few things you’d prefer to keep private in your search, watch and location history. By default, Google auto-deletes account records after 18 months. If you want to shorten that window, you can do so in a few steps.

Really, you need a digital estate plan

It’s not a legal document but rather a rundown of all your accounts, passwords and online assets with instructions on how to find them. My Mom made one before she passed, and I can’t tell you how much time and stress it saved me during an incredibly emotional time.

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Your list can be as formal or informal as you like. It could be an Excel spreadsheet or Word doc that includes websites, login details and anything else you want to leave behind. If you go this route, password-protect the file and leave the password in your will.

If you’re comfortable with it, I highly recommend you do this in a password manager. Most have the option to set up a contact who can access your logins when you pass. Use a password notebook if you’re more comfortable with pen and paper.

Here’s a checklist to get you started:

I know it’s not fun to think about, but you’ll be helping your loved ones immensely if you do.

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