Hacker Sends Spam from Dead Relative's Email

Emails sent from Yahoo account

A Stafford family says hackers are using a late relative's account to send spam messages.

Cassie Woods' mother, Paula Chase, died Oct. 1, 2009. Nearly two years later, on Sept. 30, Woods tells The Free Lance-Star that she received from an email from her mother's Yahoo account.

Woods' husband, Jarrod, says spam messages are sent from Chase's account about every three days.

Jarrod Woods says a Yahoo supervisor told him he needed a copy of the death certificate, a written request to close the account and proof that the person making the request was related to Chase. But no one told him where to submit the paperwork.

A Yahoo spokesman says the company sympathizes with the family and would like to make sure the account is properly closed.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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