I checked into specifics on the options a family has when a loved one dies with an “e-presence” out in cyberspace.               Here is a short list of the most common websites and how they handle accounts of people who have died.

Facebook
Facebook gives you a couple of options.     You can close the account or turn the account into a memorial where friends and family can leave notes or comments about the person.   Privacy is set to friends and family only and the profile become unsearchable, all personal sensitive information is stripped out of the profile and it prevents anyone from ever logging into it again.    To  create a memorial, you have to fill out their online form and submit a proof of death such as an obituary or news article about the person proving that they are, in fact, dead.    The link to the Facebook form to do this.    http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=deceased       or contact them directly to close the account (also submitting the appropriate proof of death.

If you come across a person on Linked-in who is deceased or if you have a family member who is deceased, you will need to notify Customer Service that the Profile still exists and may need to be removed. They request that you provide any important information about the deceased member that will help their Privacy Department in in investigating and acting on the account accordingly. Items to provide in your email would be one or two of the following:

1. An Obituary Link
2. A Death Notice
3. Consular Report of Death
4. Death Certificate

Per Google’s Website, you have to submit via fax or email a list of required documents to get access to the account.     I found information on what to do on their website -
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=14300 .

I have read where Flickr (a photo sharing website) keeps the sites open but prevents any kind of access to photos marked Private.      They are owned by Yahoo now, and I was unable to find the issue addressed anywhere on their website.    The information was difficult to find, so you would have to contact them directly.

My Space gives you a couple of options also.   You can submit a request along with the required information to remove the profile or you can create a group profile (memorial) and link it to the deceased persons profile.      I found information at this location.     http://faq.myspace.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/369/kw/deceased%20person/r_id/100061

These are just a few of the most common websites where you may hold a membership.   If you have a business or a personal website, you also want to be sure and record who your host is and how to contact them in case of your death.       Online presence can last for years and maybe indefinitely, so this is just one more thing to include in your survivorship plan.   Let your family know where your footprints are in cyberspace to manage your presence responsibly.

This happened to me this week.      A bank in San Antonio mailed a signature form to me by regular mail to change the authorization to my aunt’s checking account.   They called me in February to verify my address.    I still had not received the “signature cards” in March.     My aunt finally went down there and had them make up some new ones and my aunt sent them to me certified mail.   To my surprise, when I received them, I was shocked!  These were not just signature cards, they were full new account forms.      Every piece of information needed for identity theft had been on the form and it had all the information on there for 3 people!    I was astounded that such information was “casually” sent through the mail in hopes that it would get here.   Over the past few years, I have seen more mistakes with the mail than I care to document, and banks are using it on a regular basis as a vehicle for your highly protected information.   I called the bank and started running my concern up the chain of command only to be told that my aunt’s account was very compromised and she needed to open a new one and that they did this all the time and only NOW did they understand “concern over security of your information.”   I told them to read their fraud statement on their own website and tell me how it is only now they are concerned about it.   How frustrating is that?      So a word to the wise.   

If you are working with a bank or financial institution on such matters, make sure they do not send any vital information through the mail system.    There are more secure ways to transfer that information.     Offer to pay for it.   You will be way ahead in keeping your information secure.     Customer beware!