Those considering taking a peek at their spouse’s emails may want to reconsider. A Michigan man has been charged with a felony for doing just that.

Have you checked your spouse’s e-mail account lately? If you have, you may have committed a crime, or at least you may have if you live in Michigan.

In a case generating national attention, Michigan resident Leon Walker was charged under the state’s anti-hacking law for checking his wife’s email without permission, a crime normally reserved for charging those who have committed identity theft or stolen trade secrets. If convicted, Walker may be sentenced up to five years in prison.

Walker and his wife were in the process of divorcing, but still sharing a residence, at the time he checked her personal email account. While he did not have permission to check her email, Walker had purchased the computer for her, the computer was kept in their home and he regularly used it. Walker’s wife also kept all of the passwords to her accounts in a book she stored next to the computer.

Walker said that he read her emails because he believed she was having an affair with her second ex-husband and feared for the safety of his children. His wife’s emails confirmed that she was having the affair with her ex, whom she had accused of physical abuse at the time of her second divorce.

Walker’s wife, however, has contended that her now ex-husband violated her privacy rights and he should be convicted of the crime.

Michigan lawmakers have gone on the record saying that their intent behind the anti-hacking law was not to charge spouses who have been spying on each other, but to punish much more serious criminal offenders. The county prosecutor, however, believed that Walker had violated the law as it was written. Walker’s trial is scheduled for the beginning of April.

Spousal Snooping in Minnesota

Leon Walker is the first spouse in Michigan – and possibility any other state in the country- to be charged criminally for reading his wife’s emails. While all states, including Minnesota, have criminal laws prohibiting unauthorized access of information stored on a computer, these laws generally are reserved to punish those who have committed serious breaches of electronically stored data.

For example, in Minnesota a person is guilty of committing the crime of unauthorized computer access if he or she “intentionally and without authorization attempts to or does penetrate a computer security system” (?609.891). Serious breaches of security can be charged as a felony under this law, but accessing personal data is charged as a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and/or up to a $3000 fine.

While by definition a husband logging into a wife’s email account without permission could constitute unauthorized access, to date no spouse has been convicted of violating this law in Minnesota.

Some legal commentators worry that if the Michigan court decides to convict Walker of the criminal charges, it could have a watershed effect in other states choosing to follow its example. As one lawyer said, there simply are not enough courts in the country to handle all of the potential cases of spousal snooping.

Steps to Keep Your Private Information Private during Divorce

If you are getting divorced, you should assume that anything you post online can be found by your spouse, even if the information is password protected or not available to the public. Even so, this does not mean you have to make it easy for your soon-to-be-ex to collect potentially damaging information about you from your online accounts.

Here are some steps you can take to protect your “private” information:

- Change your passwords and security questions:If you are considering divorce, separated or in the middle of divorce proceedings, change all of your passwords, including those of your email accounts, bank accounts and any other accounts you access online. Change your security questions and pick those with answers that your spouse is unlikely to know.

- Up your security settings on social networking sites: If you belong to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, make sure you have set your security preferences to private or the equivalent highest setting to prevent public access to your information. Go through your “friends” list and remove anyone who may give your significant other access to your account.

- Don’t put anything in an email you don’t want your spouse to read. E-mails to your new boyfriend or girlfriend or those telling a friend about an upcoming expensive trip can come back to haunt you in a divorce proceeding. A judge can issue an order requiring you to keep your emails and they can be used as evidence against you in court.

- Be wary of what you post online: you also should be very careful about what you post on social networking sites, in chat rooms, on blogs and other cyberspace sites. Facebook is the go-to site for divorce attorneys digging for information on soon-to-be ex-spouses. This information can be used as evidence against you during a divorce and may impact everything from the property settlement to child custody to spousal support.

- Remove questionable content: If you have any information on your Facebook profile or other social networking site that has the potential to cast you in a bad light, take it down immediately. This includes photographs, messages exchanged on your wall, status updates and any other information that may be incriminating. It’s best not to put this type of information about yourself online, but if you have, take it down.

Conclusion

Whether you are going through a divorce or not, you should be careful about the information you post about yourself on the Internet. Not only can this information be used against you in a divorce, but you never know who may be looking at it.

For more information on divorce and protecting your privacy from your spouse, contact an experienced divorce attorney today.

Article provided by Walling Berg & Debele PA

The private investigator currently holds a record against him for the murder of a former business partner (the case apparently “collapsed” Friday), perverting the court of justice as well as being held responsible for “introducing a senior news anchor to a hacker who used a computer virus to illegally obtain sensitive e-mails from a former Army intelligence officer,” (quoted from The Daily Mail)

However, as BBC goes under scrutiny, the company is claiming that the private investigator was never employed and never under contract, despite journalists who apparently claimed to have worked with this private investigator on many cases. The BBC, like a broadcasting and news company, delivers timely news as well as investigative news stories and utilizes many investigative practices to deliver fact. Hiring a private investigator to assist with new stories isn’t uncommon, however, delivering statements that private investigators who hold criminal records is uncommon. The BBC will continue to comply with all company policies and abide by all rulings on this case.

The common denominator here in these divorce cases is the ease of communication. Anyone can have a Facebook, MySpace or a Twitter account and they can make it as public or as private as they would like. It’s the old boyfriends or girlfriends, the office crushes, the office flirts etc. who make the friend list that can push a marriage on the verge of being on the outs into a full on split. Flirting, “poking,” (an acknowledgment application on Facebook), sending online messages, online chatting, “Liking” a picture and the list goes on has divorce lawyers heads spinning as couples claim time and time again that activity on a website is the reason for the split.

Celebrities, with their lavish romances and ten minute marriages, have also been citing social networking websites as sources of evidence for infidelity. Is it the marriage itself or is Facebook to blame?

The Insight Group encourages all couples who believe their partner might be cheating to investigate the relationship first and Facebook second.

Below are the top four warning signs of actions that are usually committed by cheating partners or spouses;

1. An Increase In Arguments
Finding yourself yelling more than talking to your partner? Are they constantly instigating or initiating these fights? Someone who is upset with their thoughts or actions have more of a tendency to start quarrels and pick fights with their loved ones to help alleviate their guilt. They may try and find something wrong with you, try making it appear that all of the problems that exist in your relationship are your fault and they may try to blame your for their actions.

2. They Take Up New Hobbies…That You’re Not Invited To Come Along To
Is your partner or spouse expressing an interest in something they previously haven’t expressed interest in? Is your partner or spouse spending longer hours than normal at the gym or playing tennis? When you ask to accompany or participate, are you requests ignored or refused? This could potentially be because your partner is spending time with another doing these activities. Watch how your partner or spouse reacts at your request to participate or accompany, they could provide quick insight.

3. Higher Cell Phone Bills
Is your bill higher than normal? Are unusual numbers showing up on the bill? If you can check their data or message plans, are there number of text messages higher than normal? Smart phones are quickly becoming one of the first tools of insight to a cheating partner or spouse or to one who is thinking about cheating.Check all numbers and data and media use if the bill has become higher than normal.

4. A General Feeling of Unrest
The cliched phrase is “Go with you gut,” and when it comes to cheating partners and cheating spouses, this phrase couldn’t be more true. Going with your instinct can truly help alleviate any and/or all concerns. If you suspect or can’t rid yourself of the nagging that “that something just isn’t right,” take the next step. Employ a private investigator and set those fears, worries, thoughts and concerns at ease.