Cybercrime is spreading at an unprecedented pace. Almost every day, we report at least one piece of news about a scam or fraud that happened online. And with the increasing number of scams, scammers are also getting more innovative to dupe people. The latest is a sick little trick in which scammers pretend to be someone’s deceased relative. These hackers keep track of obituaries, death notices, and online memorials to catch their new victim. While there are many other forms of crime, this is reportedly the primary gameplay. And it is becoming so popular that there is a name for such scammers. They are called ghost hackers.

What do ghost hackers do?

After logging into the account, ghost hackers get their personal information. And then the circus begins. Having personal information in the hands of these criminals will make it easier for them to send spam, scams or malicious messages to their friends and family.

The main motivation of these hackers is financial gain, which they achieve by breaking into high-value accounts, such as financial accounts, or by stealing the identities of deceased individuals and obtaining enough personal information to fraudulently obtain credit cards, loans and other financial benefits in their name. These hackers are like termites. Once they break into one account, they get everywhere unless they are stopped.

How to Stop Ghost Hackers?

The biggest target of these hackers are online accounts that are not being actively used, but have also not been deactivated or disabled. Therefore, the primary plan of action should be to deactivate all social media and bank accounts of a person who has died. Also, it would be a good idea to block their mobile number. Since most accounts online are now synced with phone numbers, disabling the cellular connection is a good option. Social media companies also allow you to close a deceased person’s account. Here’s how it works for the most popular platforms:

On Facebook, you can appoint an old contact to take over the account after someone dies. This person will not have the ability to log in, see your messages, or delete friends. To set this up on mobile, tap the three-line menu icon in the bottom right. Go to Settings and Privacy, then choose “Account Center,” followed by “Personal Details” and then “Account Ownership and Control.” From there, select “Memorialize.” Here, you can choose your old contact from your friends list (and be sure to inform them of their new role). You also have the option to specify whether or not you want your account deleted after you pass away.

For iPhone users, Apple’s Legacy Contact feature allows you to designate trusted individuals to manage your Apple account data. You can appoint up to several legacy contacts to handle your account information after your death, all of whom must be at least 13 years of age.

You can also adjust your Google Account settings. You may want to keep certain aspects of your Search, Watch, and Location history private. Google automatically deletes account data after 18 months by default.