Sharing Passwords Post-Breakup: When Does Digital Access Become a Crime?

Breakups and divorces involve untangling a shared life. Beyond deciding who gets the lamp purchased at a street fair five years ago, couples are increasingly contending with unraveling their shared digital life.

Breakups are often emotional and can cause angry reactions and behavior. In some cases, this conduct can rise to the level of criminal activity or to accusations of criminal activity.

Shared passwords and accounts can expose partners to digital abuse by former partners. People may abuse access and knowledge of a former partner’s private information. Some of this conduct, such as identity theft, can lead to criminal charges.

Alternatively, someone may accuse a former partner of illegally accessing accounts or other information as a way to score an ‘advantage’ in the breakup.

If you’re facing criminal charges in Pennsylvania related to digital access or passwords, contact the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out our online form to start building your defense today.

Partners often know information about each other, such as Social Security numbers and financial account information. Even those who are careful about protecting their digital footprint tend to trust their partners and give them greater access to that information.

Recent years have seen an uptick in articles and guides about how to protect digital privacy post-breakup. Most recommend immediately dividing digital “property,” but reality often isn’t that easy.

Sharing passwords and other information even after a split may be necessary. For any number of reasons, a former couple may continue to share a phone plan or bank account.

Sharing these accounts, however, doesn’t act as a defense to any potential criminal activity. That an alleged cybercrime involves a former partner isn’t a defense. Crimes such as identity theft or bank fraud will still result in criminal charges.

Individuals can face charges if they exceed authorized access or misuse other information, such as passwords, to commit a crime. For former partners, one of the challenges can be determining the line between authorized and unauthorized access.

For example, in Pennsylvania, it’s illegal to open a credit card or utility account in someone else’s name. If someone was able to do this because they have access to a former partner’s passwords, they might be found to have exceeded the authorized use of a password.

Other cases can be more difficult to determine. In others, one partner may falsely accuse the other partner of misusing account access.

For many couples, sharing digital accounts and passwords is necessary beyond their breakup. They may disagree on what is or is not authorized use. One partner may accuse the other of abusing passwords or account access.

In some cases, these situations can result in criminal charges. The LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team works with individuals throughout Pennsylvania who have been accused of state and federal crimes. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out our online form to get help defending against the charges against you.