Digital Legacy Account Access Scams on Facebook
Scammers exploit Facebook's memorialisation and legacy contact features, contacting grieving families and offering to 'unlock' or 'transfer' a deceased relative's account for a fee.
Part of: Digital Legacy Account Access Scam
Last reviewed: 5 July 2026
Facebook allows a deceased user's profile to be memorialised or, in some cases, a designated legacy contact to manage limited settings. Because most families do not understand how this process actually works, scammers pose as helpers, recovery specialists, or even claim to represent Facebook itself, offering to speed up or unlock account access after a death in exchange for payment.
How this scam works on Facebook
After noticing an obituary, memorial post, or a flurry of condolence comments on someone's Facebook timeline, a scammer messages the grieving family member claiming to be a 'digital estate recovery agent' or platform support contact who can retrieve photos, messages, or account control on the family's behalf for a fee, sometimes framed as an 'account transfer service' or 'data recovery package.' They may also pose as a long-lost friend of the deceased offering to help navigate memorialisation requests, then ask for the family's own login details 'to verify the relationship,' which instead lets the scammer take over the grieving relative's account too.
In a related variant, the scammer sends a message appearing to come from Facebook support in response to a family's genuine memorialisation request, saying the request is 'stuck' and requires a processing fee or identity verification payment via gift card or transfer to proceed, something the real platform never charges for.
Common red flags
- Unsolicited messages after a public death announcement offering paid help with account access
- Requests for the family's own Facebook password or verification code, not just documentation about the deceased
- Any request for payment to memorialise an account or grant legacy contact access, which is a free process
- Contact from an account with no shared friends, a recently created profile, or a generic support-style name
- Pressure to act quickly because the account will 'otherwise be deleted permanently'
- Links to pages outside facebook.com asking for login credentials
How to protect yourself
- Use Facebook's own official memorialisation request or legacy contact tools directly through facebook.com, never a third party
- Never share your own or the deceased's password with anyone claiming to offer 'faster' processing
- Verify any message claiming to be from Facebook support through the platform's official Help Centre, not by replying to the message
- Ignore payment requests entirely, memorialisation, legacy contact access, and content download requests are free
- Warn other grieving family members in the same period, scammers often target several relatives from one obituary
- Report and block suspicious profiles that reach out after a death is publicly posted
How to report it
- Use Facebook's in-app 'Report' function on the profile or message sending the request
- Report to Action Fraud (UK) at actionfraud.police.uk, the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov (US), or your local equivalent
- Report identity-verification payment demands to your bank if any payment was made
- Alert other family members privately so they do not respond to similar messages
Frequently asked questions
Does Facebook ever charge to memorialise an account?
No, memorialising an account or activating legacy contact features is free, and any message asking for payment to do this is fraudulent.
How can I tell a real Facebook support message from a fake one?
Genuine Facebook communications about account requests are handled inside the platform's Help Centre and account settings, not through personal messages asking for passwords or payment.