Unauthorized Access.

It is not unusual for partners to have one another’s passwords or access to one another’s accounts during the course of their relationship.  While this practice may be a convenience during the marriage, it can also be a recipe for disaster during a separation.  If are separating or separated from your spouse and no longer wish for them to have access to your accounts, the first step is to change your passwords.  But sometimes, because of the amount of information your spouse has about you or due to existing access to accounts and certain devices, this is not enough.

There are ways to investigate whether your spouse has accessed your accounts that do not require court intervention.  First, write down all the IP addresses you use to access your accounts – work, home, and friends and family.  Second, make a list of all the devices you use to access the account and the make, model, and serial numbers for those devices.  Third, open your account and download your IP addresses and devices. Google Takeout can give you a comprehensive look at your activities on all of Google’s platforms and other e-mail companies offer similar services.

GPS Stalking.

In 2014, the Governor of New York signed Jackie’s Law, which made tracking someone’s whereabouts by GPS part of the list of acts that amount to stalking in the fourth degree – a criminal offense.  Unfortunately, if you believe someone is stalking you by GPS in New York, there are several steps you have to take before the criminal justice system can offer you relief. First, you must clearly inform your stalker that you do not wish to be tracked by GPS.  After that, you have to prove that the stalker continued to track you, in spite of your request.

Stalking in the fourth degree is a misdemeanor offense and, if convicted, a person can be ordered to serve up to three months in jail and pay $500 in fines.  Many critics have argued that Jackie’s Law does not go far enough to protect victims of GPS stalking and puts an unfair burden on the victim. To learn more about stalking laws in New York, click here.