Fraudsters are increasingly targeting the estates of the deceased for valuable internet-hosted assets such as online bank accounts, private client lawyers have warned.

Solicitors believe the trend reflects the way probate work has ‘changed beyond all recognition’. For the first time, people are trying to help the executors of their estates by giving details in their wills of passwords, pin numbers and other digital access codes. Wills, however, become documents of public record when they go to probate, allowing fraudsters to read and exploit what should be confidential information.

The ‘low-tech solution’ is to advise clients to leave a note of online codes in a sealed envelope, which the firm keeps with the will, according to Jeremy Groeger-Wilson, head of wills and estates at Kent firm Clarkson Wright & Jakes.

Law Society wills and equity committee chair Richard Roberts commented: ‘We advise clients to protect passwords in the same way that we have always protected burglar alarm codes and the keys to safes and strong rooms. Make sure the executors know where to find them, usually in a side letter lodged with the solicitors.’

Law Society private client section chair Patricia Wass agreed, saying that digital codes should be entered on to a ‘constantly updated asset log kept in a sealed envelope’.

Private client section executive committee member Helen Clarke said: ‘As information technology becomes increasingly embedded in every aspect of our lives, we need to revise codes of practice and industry protocols around rights of access to a deceased person’s online life and assets.’

Groeger-Wilson added: ‘Probate work has changed beyond recognition. As the internet generation shuffles off this mortal coil, we are seeing executors coming to our offices with a laptop computer rather than a suitcase full of bank statements.’

The problem of online estates fraud was highlighted in a recent survey of 2,000 adults by Goldsmiths University Creative and Social Technology Centre, which suggested that the UK population owns around £2.3bn of internet-hosted assets. It also found that around 11% of those surveyed have included online passwords in their wills.

  • More than 1,400 solicitors have volunteered to write wills for free in aid of charity next month. They have signed up to take part in Will Aid’s ‘Make a Will Month’, where members of the public make a donation to charity in return for getting their will drawn up. Last year’s campaign, which saw 1,100 lawyers take part, raised more than £1.5m for various good causes. This year, public interest has multiplied and there is now a pressing need for more solicitors to join up to meet demand, particularly in London and south-east England. Solicitors can find out more at the Will Aid site or by calling 01460 271178.