Hacking during divorce is a common situation. Most people are glued to their cell phones or computers. Email is their main line of communication with the rest of the world.

Most people do not consider the security issues that are involved with emails. These include fraud, viruses, and scams.

When dealing with family law issues you need to also be aware of who has access and on what devices your email is accessible.

Having your former spouse able to access your personal or business email can be detrimental. It can affect your ability to deal with your separation and divorce issues.

Some angry spouses could even go a step further and try to use your past emails against you. They might send new emails from your account that could affect your livelihood, reputation and relationships with friends and family.

What are the legal consequences of hacking emails during a divorce?

Hacking into someone’s email account without their consent is a criminal offence and is punishable under the law. Depending on the jurisdiction, this could result in fines, imprisonment, or both.

If the hacked emails are used as evidence in a divorce case, they may not be admissible in court as they were obtained illegally. This is known as “the fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine, where evidence obtained illegally will not be allowed in court.

The Rise of Digital Espionage in Divorce Proceedings

If an individual is found guilty of hacking emails during a divorce, it could negatively impact their case and potentially harm their chances of getting a favourable outcome. It can also be seen as a sign of poor character and lack of integrity, which can further harm their case.

It’s important to remember that divorce proceedings should be handled through legal means and with the guidance of a lawyer.

It’s important to act in an ethical and legal manner during a divorce. You should seek legal advice and gather evidence through legal means, as illegal actions can have serious consequences.

How can evidence of email hacking be used in a divorce case?

If an individual is able to prove that their email account was hacked during a divorce case, it could potentially be used as evidence in court.

However, the way in which the evidence was obtained will be taken into consideration. If the evidence was obtained illegally, it may not be admissible in court as it would be considered the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine.

If the evidence was obtained legally, it can be used to prove that the other party had accessed the email account illegally. This could be used to support a claim for violation of privacy or to show that the other party has been untruthful or has attempted to deceive the court.

Cyber Snooping in Marital Disputes

If the hacked emails contain information that is relevant to the divorce case, such as information about assets or income, it could be used to support the individual’s case.

It is important to note that email hacking is a criminal offence and should not be done, seeking legal advice and gathering evidence through legal means is the correct way to proceed.

Divorce proceedings should be handled through legal means and with the guidance of a lawyer. It’s important to act in an ethical and legal manner during a divorce.

Hacking Email During Divorce

What your ClearWay Law lawyer is likely to recommend is that you change all passwords. This includes your email, home computer, laptop, cell phone and voicemail once you have started a family law matter.

Are you using the same password for everything? Opening a new email with a specifically different password for use during your family law file can be a good idea. Your ex will not even know about that account.

Once you have done this you also need to be aware of how you store and forward emails regarding your family law matter.

Common Techniques Used by Spouses to Gain Unauthorized Access

The worst thing you could do is hit the forward all button and send private messages meant for your lawyer to your ex. You don’t want other people to know about what you and your ex are going through in your private lives.

Most lawyers will ask you to forward nasty emails to them for your file in case they need to be used as evidence in court.

This is typically where people forget that when forwarding these emails or attached pictures of text messages they need to make sure they are not cc’ing or replying to their lawyer as well as their ex-spouse.

Change your passwords

You should also change your passwords and email in the case of online banking. The last thing you want to have to happen is for you to leave the family home and begin renting a new apartment.

You later find that your ex has accessed your online bank accounts and transferred money to another account. Although most spouses are not this nasty, you should discuss what strategies you should take with your lawyer.

This is to make sure you are protecting yourself and also properly dealing with potential information leaks through your email.

If you have questions about hacking email during divorce, please talk to a family lawyer.

Protecting Your Personal Data During a Divorce

We have all been warned of the risks of online scams and hacking, but many people still use passwords that are easy to guess. If your password made this list or came close to it, you know what to do.

Hacking email during divorce is one problem, but there are many other things that can go wrong.

15 commonly used passwords:

• 123456
• 12345678
• qwerty
• 12345
• Iloveyou
• Football
• Welcome
• admin
• abc123
• hello
• hello1234
• whatever
• 666666
• !@#$%^&*

And of course, the 15th is the most common password… “password” … That is some super creativity right there!

Why does online security matter?

The government of Canada is trying to encourage Canadians to take online security more seriously. Here are some reasons to have a stronger password.

Hacking Email During Divorce

At work, I deal with a lot of divorces, and jealous spouses are constantly trying to hack each other’s social media during the divorce. This can be done to try and find evidence against the other person.

Most people think that if someone hacks your account the information won’t be able to be used in court. But the hacker might just say you left your social media open at their house once.

Nothing is black and white in the courthouse. It is also probably a good idea to not keep information on your social media that you feel could one day be used against you.

It can be used for blackmail

You might not be famous, rich or important right now, but one day you might be. Politicians, celebrities and CEOs have seen things they have said or sent to people online resurface many years later.

These things often come out during political campaigns. This was true before social media, where people might have secretly recorded what you said on a tape recorder.

With the rise of social media, most people have their secrets saved in their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Imagine your mother going through your social media account, would she be proud of you?

If someone can get naked pictures of you or some racial things you said while you were drunk, you might have to pay a small fortune to a blackmailer in the future to keep it from going public.

After you pay the ransom, they might release it anyway. Who knows?

It can cost you your job

If you combine your personal passwords with your work passwords and use your work email for personal things, someone might hack your work email.

Countries are regularly trying to hack corporate emails to see what kind of intellectual property they can take.

It might have cost your company millions to develop a product, and a hacker can grab it for free. You can expect to lose your job, and possibly be sued for millions yourself for failing to secure your account.

The Role of Digital Forensics in Divorce Investigations

If someone can get access to one of your accounts (email), they can often use it to reset their passwords for other accounts. Very soon someone can steal your identity.

The internet allows criminals to use complex frauds like hacking and phishing to gather identities. Once someone has “assumed your identity” they can use it for things like:

• accessing your bank accounts and clearing them out
• opening new bank accounts to use for money laundering
• applying for bank loans and credit cards in your name
• committing criminal acts in your name (with your ID)
• obtain benefits such as welfare in your name

What are the hackers after?

• your legal name
• date of birth
• where you live
• driver’s license number
• An example of your signature
• credit card information
• Your bank account details
• your SIN number
• passport number
• things they can use to blackmail you (naked photos or dirty conversations)
• Answers to security questions (you shouldn’t have to write this down) … You don’t know your mother’s maiden name?
• intellectual property from your job

How to prevent hacking during divorce

• Use a hard-to-guess password (password generator)
• Enable double verification (password plus a text message or email with a code)
• Check your credit reports and credit card statements to see if anything is wrong
• Memorize all the answers to security questions without writing them down

Have problems with hacking email during a divorce? Speak to a law firm or cyber security company.