Can you imagine all of the things you\u2019ll leave behind when your time is finally up? Heirlooms? Property? Other \u2018tangibles\u2019? Now just have a think about all of the digital assets you\u2019re likely to leave for loved ones to manage. Email accounts, shared photos, passwords, playlists, social media profiles and smart devices. The difference is that these may be completely inaccessible once you\u2019re gone, complicating what is already a traumatic process for friends and family. Worse, your digital estate might even be a target for nefarious actors.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth knowing exactly how to prepare and protect your digital legacy<\/a> and what else you can do ahead of time to reduce the emotional and physical workload for your loved ones. And what happens next if you\u2019re suddenly plunged into the same situation.<\/p>\n One of the biggest challenges comes with social media and password management. While banks, tax agencies and card companies have well-rehearsed processes for dealing with the closure of accounts after death, many digital-first companies still treat death as an \u201cedge case,\u201d according to the OpenID Foundation.<\/a> From a legal perspective, inheritance laws often don\u2019t include digital assets, online policies can be \u201copaque\u201d and tools fragmented, it says.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the state of play is in three key regions:<\/p>\n For bereaved friends and family, the emotional sucker punch of losing a loved one can be cruelly amplified if they\u2019re unable to retrieve the digital remains of the deceased. Even worse if social media algorithms surface unwanted reminders in the form of birthday notifications or tagged photos. There\u2019s also a financial impact you can\u2019t access crypto and other assets that are rightfully yours. Or if subscriptions you can\u2019t cancel start whittling down your loved one\u2019s funds.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s more. Fraudsters have also spotted an opportunity to make money. First, they\u2019ll scour obituaries and social media posts for personal details with which to impersonate the deceased in:<\/p>\n The challenge for banks and government agencies is that, once the victim is not actively monitoring their accounts, this kind of fraud can continue for much longer than it would otherwise.<\/p>\n Alternatively, scammers might target the family of a recently departed individual. For example, they might scrape footage of them from the web to create posthumous deepfakes<\/a> requesting money or information from shell-shocked relatives. Or they could hijack the deceased\u2019s social accounts to do the same. They might even impersonate an insurance company to request payment of a fee in order to release life insurance funds. Or a fictitious \u201caccount recovery\u201d service provider claiming they can access your loved one\u2019s digital assets for a fee.<\/p>\n The first thing to do is get your estate planning in order, or sit down with a loved one to sort theirs. Make a digital inventory of all important accounts, devices and assets, including their logins. This could be complicated if they\u2019re\/you\u2019re using passkeys and\/or digital wallets to store passwords. But it\u2019s a start.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to understand that, while most big tech companies offer the ability to transfer access to a \u201clegacy contact,\u201d if you don\u2019t take advantage of this before passing on, the chances are that no one will be able to access your accounts. The main services\/features are:<\/p>\n You should also be aware, however, that permissions for the above may be restricted, limiting what you can access and do once inside. But it should at least be possible to secure them, or shut them completely. That\u2019s assuming you don\u2019t need them to receive one-time passwords.<\/p>\n Next, mitigate financial fraud by filing the deceased\u2019s tax return, putting a \u201cdeceased alert\u201d on their credit reports across all bureaus, and monitoring for any unusual activity. Cancel their driver\u2019s license and freeze their bank\/credit card accounts, deleting them once safe to do so. Cancel any ongoing subscriptions you find.<\/p>\n Finally, avoid sharing too much information in the obituary as fraudsters may be monitoring. And be sure all friends and family members are alert to possible scams.<\/p>\n The above may be easier said than done, especially if you\u2019re preoccupied by your own grief, and the multitude of things to do in the aftermath of a loved one\u2019s passing. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to plan ahead as much as possible, with legacy contact outreach to the major tech platforms. And to understand exactly what digital scams might look like at this emotionally charged time.<\/p>\n The OpenID Foundation is calling for action from policymakers, tech platforms and standards bodies to make the process easier, more watertight and less traumatic for survivors. But in the meantime, the best you can do will have to do. Even by talking about it, you\u2019re taking a step in the right direction.<\/p>\nWhat does the law say?<\/h2>\n
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What\u2019s at risk?<\/h2>\n
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What you can do to manage risk<\/h2>\n
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The worst of times<\/h2>\n