Is it legal for company to use my work email to pretend I still work there?My boss is sending company email under my nameIf I own a company, can I use my company email address on my resume?Is my Linkedin profile for personal use or work use?How legal is for a company to reuse a former employee's email account?How to explain career gap due to long running legal drama?Employer wants to add my LinkedIn URL to my Business Card. Should I object?Are there legal consequences for having my salary leaked internally on a document?Is there any legal protection for widowed mothers?Is it wrong not to renew a contract without notice? My company inserted bunch of new clauses at the last minuteRelocated for an internship, still no work permitMy emails on a company email account that I no longer work for

Why is the 'in' operator throwing an error with a string literal instead of logging false?

Why is consensus so controversial in Britain?

If human space travel is limited by the G force vulnerability, is there a way to counter G forces?

In a spin, are both wings stalled?

Arrow those variables!

How can saying a song's name be a copyright violation?

Stopping power of mountain vs road bike

Doing something right before you need it - expression for this?

Combinations of multiple lists

I'm flying to France today and my passport expires in less than 2 months

Has there ever been an airliner design involving reducing generator load by installing solar panels?

Is it inappropriate for a student to attend their mentor's dissertation defense?

Fully-Firstable Anagram Sets

Why doesn't H₄O²⁺ exist?

What is the intuition behind short exact sequences of groups; in particular, what is the intuition behind group extensions?

Assassin's bullet with mercury

Reserved de-dupe rules

Can a rocket refuel on Mars from water?

Watching something be written to a file live with tail

Why "Having chlorophyll without photosynthesis is actually very dangerous" and "like living with a bomb"?

Did Shadowfax go to Valinor?

Why can't we play rap on piano?

Modeling an IP Address

Brothers & sisters



Is it legal for company to use my work email to pretend I still work there?


My boss is sending company email under my nameIf I own a company, can I use my company email address on my resume?Is my Linkedin profile for personal use or work use?How legal is for a company to reuse a former employee's email account?How to explain career gap due to long running legal drama?Employer wants to add my LinkedIn URL to my Business Card. Should I object?Are there legal consequences for having my salary leaked internally on a document?Is there any legal protection for widowed mothers?Is it wrong not to renew a contract without notice? My company inserted bunch of new clauses at the last minuteRelocated for an internship, still no work permitMy emails on a company email account that I no longer work for






.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;








41















I recently quit my job due to the toxic work environment.



My job involved email communication with our clients, and my boss has asked my coworkers to use my email to pretend to be me and talk to our clients. He says he hasn't been able to find a replacement for me yet, and that he doesn't want our clients to think we have turnover. Is this legal?



He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too. I'm afraid he's going to edit my work history to make it look like I still work there. What should I do?










share|improve this question









New contributor




Natasha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.















  • 49





    LinkedIn has a help page for changing your e-mail address: linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/60/…

    – Brandin
    10 hours ago






  • 23





    "He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too." - he's wrong and he's right. He does not own your LinkedIn profile - you do. He does own the email address - you should stop using it now.

    – Joe Strazzere
    9 hours ago






  • 7





    What is your locale? Sometimes local laws matter here - particularly when you ask "Is this legal?".

    – Joe Strazzere
    9 hours ago







  • 2





    Since you no longer work for the company, YOU no longer "own" that email address. If you are still using it on a LinkedIn profile, arguably YOU are impersonating the fact that you still work for the company! Bottom line: get a genuinely personal email address, and use it for everything not directly work-related.

    – alephzero
    5 hours ago






  • 2





    I think often on this site, when OPs use the literal word "legal", they actually just mean "proper". Questions like "Is it legal for X to do Y?" really usually just mean "Should X do Y?" Just another confusing aspect of these sites.

    – Fattie
    5 hours ago

















41















I recently quit my job due to the toxic work environment.



My job involved email communication with our clients, and my boss has asked my coworkers to use my email to pretend to be me and talk to our clients. He says he hasn't been able to find a replacement for me yet, and that he doesn't want our clients to think we have turnover. Is this legal?



He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too. I'm afraid he's going to edit my work history to make it look like I still work there. What should I do?










share|improve this question









New contributor




Natasha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.















  • 49





    LinkedIn has a help page for changing your e-mail address: linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/60/…

    – Brandin
    10 hours ago






  • 23





    "He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too." - he's wrong and he's right. He does not own your LinkedIn profile - you do. He does own the email address - you should stop using it now.

    – Joe Strazzere
    9 hours ago






  • 7





    What is your locale? Sometimes local laws matter here - particularly when you ask "Is this legal?".

    – Joe Strazzere
    9 hours ago







  • 2





    Since you no longer work for the company, YOU no longer "own" that email address. If you are still using it on a LinkedIn profile, arguably YOU are impersonating the fact that you still work for the company! Bottom line: get a genuinely personal email address, and use it for everything not directly work-related.

    – alephzero
    5 hours ago






  • 2





    I think often on this site, when OPs use the literal word "legal", they actually just mean "proper". Questions like "Is it legal for X to do Y?" really usually just mean "Should X do Y?" Just another confusing aspect of these sites.

    – Fattie
    5 hours ago













41












41








41


2






I recently quit my job due to the toxic work environment.



My job involved email communication with our clients, and my boss has asked my coworkers to use my email to pretend to be me and talk to our clients. He says he hasn't been able to find a replacement for me yet, and that he doesn't want our clients to think we have turnover. Is this legal?



He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too. I'm afraid he's going to edit my work history to make it look like I still work there. What should I do?










share|improve this question









New contributor




Natasha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












I recently quit my job due to the toxic work environment.



My job involved email communication with our clients, and my boss has asked my coworkers to use my email to pretend to be me and talk to our clients. He says he hasn't been able to find a replacement for me yet, and that he doesn't want our clients to think we have turnover. Is this legal?



He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too. I'm afraid he's going to edit my work history to make it look like I still work there. What should I do?







job-change email quitting linkedin legal






share|improve this question









New contributor




Natasha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




Natasha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 10 hours ago







Natasha













New contributor




Natasha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 10 hours ago









NatashaNatasha

20924




20924




New contributor




Natasha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





Natasha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






Natasha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







  • 49





    LinkedIn has a help page for changing your e-mail address: linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/60/…

    – Brandin
    10 hours ago






  • 23





    "He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too." - he's wrong and he's right. He does not own your LinkedIn profile - you do. He does own the email address - you should stop using it now.

    – Joe Strazzere
    9 hours ago






  • 7





    What is your locale? Sometimes local laws matter here - particularly when you ask "Is this legal?".

    – Joe Strazzere
    9 hours ago







  • 2





    Since you no longer work for the company, YOU no longer "own" that email address. If you are still using it on a LinkedIn profile, arguably YOU are impersonating the fact that you still work for the company! Bottom line: get a genuinely personal email address, and use it for everything not directly work-related.

    – alephzero
    5 hours ago






  • 2





    I think often on this site, when OPs use the literal word "legal", they actually just mean "proper". Questions like "Is it legal for X to do Y?" really usually just mean "Should X do Y?" Just another confusing aspect of these sites.

    – Fattie
    5 hours ago












  • 49





    LinkedIn has a help page for changing your e-mail address: linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/60/…

    – Brandin
    10 hours ago






  • 23





    "He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too." - he's wrong and he's right. He does not own your LinkedIn profile - you do. He does own the email address - you should stop using it now.

    – Joe Strazzere
    9 hours ago






  • 7





    What is your locale? Sometimes local laws matter here - particularly when you ask "Is this legal?".

    – Joe Strazzere
    9 hours ago







  • 2





    Since you no longer work for the company, YOU no longer "own" that email address. If you are still using it on a LinkedIn profile, arguably YOU are impersonating the fact that you still work for the company! Bottom line: get a genuinely personal email address, and use it for everything not directly work-related.

    – alephzero
    5 hours ago






  • 2





    I think often on this site, when OPs use the literal word "legal", they actually just mean "proper". Questions like "Is it legal for X to do Y?" really usually just mean "Should X do Y?" Just another confusing aspect of these sites.

    – Fattie
    5 hours ago







49




49





LinkedIn has a help page for changing your e-mail address: linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/60/…

– Brandin
10 hours ago





LinkedIn has a help page for changing your e-mail address: linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/60/…

– Brandin
10 hours ago




23




23





"He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too." - he's wrong and he's right. He does not own your LinkedIn profile - you do. He does own the email address - you should stop using it now.

– Joe Strazzere
9 hours ago





"He also asked me to give him my LinkedIn profile login information. I created it using my work email address and now he says he owns the rights to it since he owns the rights to my work email address too." - he's wrong and he's right. He does not own your LinkedIn profile - you do. He does own the email address - you should stop using it now.

– Joe Strazzere
9 hours ago




7




7





What is your locale? Sometimes local laws matter here - particularly when you ask "Is this legal?".

– Joe Strazzere
9 hours ago






What is your locale? Sometimes local laws matter here - particularly when you ask "Is this legal?".

– Joe Strazzere
9 hours ago





2




2





Since you no longer work for the company, YOU no longer "own" that email address. If you are still using it on a LinkedIn profile, arguably YOU are impersonating the fact that you still work for the company! Bottom line: get a genuinely personal email address, and use it for everything not directly work-related.

– alephzero
5 hours ago





Since you no longer work for the company, YOU no longer "own" that email address. If you are still using it on a LinkedIn profile, arguably YOU are impersonating the fact that you still work for the company! Bottom line: get a genuinely personal email address, and use it for everything not directly work-related.

– alephzero
5 hours ago




2




2





I think often on this site, when OPs use the literal word "legal", they actually just mean "proper". Questions like "Is it legal for X to do Y?" really usually just mean "Should X do Y?" Just another confusing aspect of these sites.

– Fattie
5 hours ago





I think often on this site, when OPs use the literal word "legal", they actually just mean "proper". Questions like "Is it legal for X to do Y?" really usually just mean "Should X do Y?" Just another confusing aspect of these sites.

– Fattie
5 hours ago










9 Answers
9






active

oldest

votes


















41














Regarding the first question, "is it legal?" questions should always be posted on Law SE, not here.



As for your LI, I believe LI has the ability to change your email address associated with your account. It should be in your profile settings somewhere. You should change that.






share|improve this answer


















  • 32





    Change your email immediately. And in the future never set something up that is not 100% work related using a work email. You may actually have a very difficult time making this change since often access to the old email can be used to reverse things like this. They will most certainly be notified, and they can change your password there now too at any time.

    – Bill Leeper
    9 hours ago






  • 10





    It's prima fascia fraud, anyone with basic HR knowledge knows that.

    – Richard U
    9 hours ago






  • 4





    @RichardU - if it is indeed fraud (and locale matters in that regard), then the fraud is being committed on the email recipients, not the OP.

    – Joe Strazzere
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    @JoeStrazzere certainly that, possibly both, but also could be identity theft as well.

    – Richard U
    9 hours ago






  • 10





    @RichardU - maybe. Fraud, Identity Theft and Identity Fraud all have specific legal meanings that usually depend on the locale. We need to be careful with these sorts of terms. I think we can all agree that what the company is doing is "bad". I'm not sure we can decide if it's actually illegal without more data than we currently have.

    – Joe Strazzere
    8 hours ago


















28














Update your linkedin profile IMMEDIATELY, report possible fraud to them. Change the email from your work email to a private one.



Get a lawyer to send a cease and desist order to your previous employer. Ask your lawyer about identity theft and criminal impersonation charges.



Also ask your lawyer if you're permitted to reach out to the clients.






share|improve this answer


















  • 3





    Note that, from LinkedIn's perspective, this can look a lot like someone pretending to be you to try to hijack your account (as opposed to you trying to hijack your account back from your former boss pretending to be you). If you didn't already have two-step verification or some other backup authentication method set up that isn't tied to your old work e-mail, you could have a hard time proving that you're really you.

    – Ilmari Karonen
    5 hours ago












  • LI was ask for proof of identity.

    – David Schwartz
    2 hours ago


















7














Legality definitely matters, but even if illegal, are you willing to hire lawyers and sue? What will the legality do to shape your response?



To me the larger questions are around whether it’s ethical and more directly what’s the harm or value of what’s happening. You need to gauge whatever risk you are willing to undertake either by allowing them to pose as you or in fighting them. There are many facets here.



That said, even if it is somehow legal I consider this a form of identity theft in principle. If it were me, I would do or at minimum strongly consider the following actions:



  • Change the email to which my LI account is linked;

  • Inform my former employer they absolutely do not have my consent to pose as me;

  • Suggest if they wish to retain the use of my existence, we should work out a suitable consulting arrangement;

  • Inform them of my intent to do the following if they do not cease posing as me; and

  • Contact my former client and vendor contacts/companies and alert them that it’s come to my attention that my former employer may be attempting to pose as me.

Edit To be clear, in no way am I suggesting the OP's personally affiliated account be shared. The consulting angle implies the OP actually is a consultant and is responding themselves...not licensing use of their name to others.






share|improve this answer




















  • 1





    Suppose a random person A who did not like the OP was able to log into OP's account because the managers told everyone to log into her account to see if any clients are calling her. Let's say person A saw the linkedin message from a potential employer and used that contact to ruin OP's chance of being hired? Not exactly a great situation for the employer, even if it's the action of another.

    – Dan
    9 hours ago











  • @Dan Agreed. One of the many scenarios where this overall sharing of the account is bad (in this case for both OP and former employer). "Let that be a lesson kids. Never ever share your passwords."

    – John Spiegel
    9 hours ago


















5














Company owns your email address (for example natasha.nice@yourcompany.com ) so they could theoretically re-use it, however impersonating someone (especially to obtain financial gain) is strictly forbidden in most civilized societies. For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud.



I advise you to write polite but firm letter to your former company, asking them to cease and desist with this behavior. If they don't respond contact legal professional in your area. In some jurisdictions you could even contact police.



As for LinkedIn, email with the proof of your identity (document issued by your government with the purpose of identification) is enough to close down fraudulent profile.






share|improve this answer























  • It's also a common practice, at least in the US, to keep the e-mail accounts of certain former employees active to receive new mail for some time after their departure. However, access is usually granted through someone else's own account, or some other generic account, and any responses are tagged as sent by "y" on behalf of "x". Rather than impersonating the departed individual, this is simply a means of ensuring client communications aren't "lost" during the transition.

    – BryKKan
    6 hours ago











  • "For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud." It is not itself fraud; rather, it can be used to commit fraud.

    – Acccumulation
    6 hours ago


















2














I imagine you'd have to go see a lawyer. In terms of ownership, your employer "owns" your email address. So they are allowed to view the contents and/or make appropriate adjustments. There are certain protections but it depends on your country as far as what your employer may view and keep. It may also depend on your country but I would imagine so long as they are using it to direct their business then it is perfectly legal. Now if they are using it to pretend to be you by protective reasons (doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, bank login, etc) then no, that would definitely not be legal.



Key reason you should not be signing up for LinkedIn with your work account that is not work related. Hopefully you did not do anything important with the account or contacted anyone non-work related. Definitely update any email addresses on various sites, and be sure to contact anyone not related to work that your email has changed.






share|improve this answer
































    2














    Congratulations on taking action to get free of a toxic environment!

    A lot of people just put up with it.



    This is advice for next time (for you) and for any others that might be considering this:



    Set your out of office and your voice mail greeting just before you turn in your notice.

    Don't say anything nasty towards the company, just a simple:




    "I am no longer available.

    You can contact [whoever] to get a new representative."




    Replace [whoever] with your boss's name, email of the sales department, or anything generic (not a specific person unless that person is a manager/supervisor in charge of your work).



    You'll note I said "just before" because if they walk you out, you may not have a chance to do it just after you turn in your notice.




    While this isn't a direct answer to your question, I do think it is helpful enough to not just be a comment

    (and it is my comment on another answer)






    share|improve this answer























    • I would also add that you might set the effective time for your OOO reply to some later time in case some circumstances in the process of leaving and you decide to delay or cancel your departure. Imagine they offer you a nice bonus to stay another month and you agree, only to have 7 clients get your OOO reply while in the meeting!

      – BryKKan
      6 hours ago






    • 4





      Since any company will already have access to all own email accounts regardless of the particular situation the OP is in, this is pointless, since any company computer admin can legally reverse the change.

      – alephzero
      6 hours ago


















    1














    While they can still use your work email since it belongs to the company they probably cannot ask your coworkers to impersonate you. I would seek the advice of a lawyer immediately.



    As for your Linkedln profile, once again if you created it with your work email they have control of this account as well. You do not need to give them your login information as they can simply reset it with the email that they have control over.



    Regardless, seek legal advice regarding the company impersonating you.



    If you have the contact information for your former clients, you can reach out to them and let them know you quit the company and that any emails appearing to come from yourself are not actually from yourself.






    share|improve this answer























    • I would just use any client contact information and contact they and just say you have left the company and it was a pleasure working with them. Let them draw their own conclusions as to any future conversation utilises your form email

      – Ed Heal
      10 hours ago











    • Given the ease to "forward" the email, I don't see any reason they should be using the OP's email other than to catch and redirect anything they were working on at the time. If the employer is allowing random employees to log into her account, then that might open the door for (possibly civil only) action.

      – Dan
      10 hours ago



















    0














    It’s probably Ok to keep using your email address. There may be some problems: if you were highly experienced and valued by customers, and you are replaced by someone much less competent, and customers only find out when they are asked to pay for shoddy work performed under your name, that could be a problem. If your reputation suffers, that could be a problem. If your new employers reputation suffers because it looks like their best man is not an employee but working for more than one company, that would be a problem.



    So it’s not the reusing of the email address that causes them legal problems, but any consequences.






    share|improve this answer






























      0














      Do you still have access to your work email?
      IMHO, you should have sent clients a "dear john" letter when quit.



      Currently you can only update your linkedIn profile to put past in the past



      Regarding linkedIn - its your account and i would suggest changing email its linked to personal one, if you don`t have one now, there are lots of free ones.






      share|improve this answer


















      • 2





        I have to disagree with telling clients you are leaving. That's a work issue that the company should handle. Obviously, they shouldn't handle it by faking, but how and when internal company issues get communicated to customers is up to the company.

        – DaveG
        8 hours ago











      • @DaveG Workplace is workplace, but lots of service positions based on personal relationships and person`s reputation transcends one particular workplace. OP already stated that workplace was toxic, easy for pretenders to ruin her reputation for further job search or even clients endorsements for linked in or even as potential employers in the future

        – Strader
        8 hours ago












      • I wouldn't recommend sending any sort of notice when you quit. Probably okay to set your out of office message before you go though - I will post as an answer to see if there is a good rebuttal to this.

        – J. Chris Compton
        7 hours ago











      Your Answer








      StackExchange.ready(function()
      var channelOptions =
      tags: "".split(" "),
      id: "423"
      ;
      initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

      StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
      // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
      if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
      StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
      createEditor();
      );

      else
      createEditor();

      );

      function createEditor()
      StackExchange.prepareEditor(
      heartbeatType: 'answer',
      autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
      convertImagesToLinks: false,
      noModals: true,
      showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
      reputationToPostImages: null,
      bindNavPrevention: true,
      postfix: "",
      imageUploader:
      brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
      contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
      allowUrls: true
      ,
      noCode: true, onDemand: false,
      discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
      ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
      );



      );






      Natasha is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.









      draft saved

      draft discarded


















      StackExchange.ready(
      function ()
      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworkplace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f133270%2fis-it-legal-for-company-to-use-my-work-email-to-pretend-i-still-work-there%23new-answer', 'question_page');

      );

      Post as a guest















      Required, but never shown




















      StackExchange.ready(function ()
      $("#show-editor-button input, #show-editor-button button").click(function ()
      var showEditor = function()
      $("#show-editor-button").hide();
      $("#post-form").removeClass("dno");
      StackExchange.editor.finallyInit();
      ;

      var useFancy = $(this).data('confirm-use-fancy');
      if(useFancy == 'True')
      var popupTitle = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-title');
      var popupBody = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-body');
      var popupAccept = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-accept-button');

      $(this).loadPopup(
      url: '/post/self-answer-popup',
      loaded: function(popup)
      var pTitle = $(popup).find('h2');
      var pBody = $(popup).find('.popup-body');
      var pSubmit = $(popup).find('.popup-submit');

      pTitle.text(popupTitle);
      pBody.html(popupBody);
      pSubmit.val(popupAccept).click(showEditor);

      )
      else
      var confirmText = $(this).data('confirm-text');
      if (confirmText ? confirm(confirmText) : true)
      showEditor();


      );
      );






      9 Answers
      9






      active

      oldest

      votes








      9 Answers
      9






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      41














      Regarding the first question, "is it legal?" questions should always be posted on Law SE, not here.



      As for your LI, I believe LI has the ability to change your email address associated with your account. It should be in your profile settings somewhere. You should change that.






      share|improve this answer


















      • 32





        Change your email immediately. And in the future never set something up that is not 100% work related using a work email. You may actually have a very difficult time making this change since often access to the old email can be used to reverse things like this. They will most certainly be notified, and they can change your password there now too at any time.

        – Bill Leeper
        9 hours ago






      • 10





        It's prima fascia fraud, anyone with basic HR knowledge knows that.

        – Richard U
        9 hours ago






      • 4





        @RichardU - if it is indeed fraud (and locale matters in that regard), then the fraud is being committed on the email recipients, not the OP.

        – Joe Strazzere
        9 hours ago






      • 1





        @JoeStrazzere certainly that, possibly both, but also could be identity theft as well.

        – Richard U
        9 hours ago






      • 10





        @RichardU - maybe. Fraud, Identity Theft and Identity Fraud all have specific legal meanings that usually depend on the locale. We need to be careful with these sorts of terms. I think we can all agree that what the company is doing is "bad". I'm not sure we can decide if it's actually illegal without more data than we currently have.

        – Joe Strazzere
        8 hours ago















      41














      Regarding the first question, "is it legal?" questions should always be posted on Law SE, not here.



      As for your LI, I believe LI has the ability to change your email address associated with your account. It should be in your profile settings somewhere. You should change that.






      share|improve this answer


















      • 32





        Change your email immediately. And in the future never set something up that is not 100% work related using a work email. You may actually have a very difficult time making this change since often access to the old email can be used to reverse things like this. They will most certainly be notified, and they can change your password there now too at any time.

        – Bill Leeper
        9 hours ago






      • 10





        It's prima fascia fraud, anyone with basic HR knowledge knows that.

        – Richard U
        9 hours ago






      • 4





        @RichardU - if it is indeed fraud (and locale matters in that regard), then the fraud is being committed on the email recipients, not the OP.

        – Joe Strazzere
        9 hours ago






      • 1





        @JoeStrazzere certainly that, possibly both, but also could be identity theft as well.

        – Richard U
        9 hours ago






      • 10





        @RichardU - maybe. Fraud, Identity Theft and Identity Fraud all have specific legal meanings that usually depend on the locale. We need to be careful with these sorts of terms. I think we can all agree that what the company is doing is "bad". I'm not sure we can decide if it's actually illegal without more data than we currently have.

        – Joe Strazzere
        8 hours ago













      41












      41








      41







      Regarding the first question, "is it legal?" questions should always be posted on Law SE, not here.



      As for your LI, I believe LI has the ability to change your email address associated with your account. It should be in your profile settings somewhere. You should change that.






      share|improve this answer













      Regarding the first question, "is it legal?" questions should always be posted on Law SE, not here.



      As for your LI, I believe LI has the ability to change your email address associated with your account. It should be in your profile settings somewhere. You should change that.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 10 hours ago









      Ertai87Ertai87

      12.4k31635




      12.4k31635







      • 32





        Change your email immediately. And in the future never set something up that is not 100% work related using a work email. You may actually have a very difficult time making this change since often access to the old email can be used to reverse things like this. They will most certainly be notified, and they can change your password there now too at any time.

        – Bill Leeper
        9 hours ago






      • 10





        It's prima fascia fraud, anyone with basic HR knowledge knows that.

        – Richard U
        9 hours ago






      • 4





        @RichardU - if it is indeed fraud (and locale matters in that regard), then the fraud is being committed on the email recipients, not the OP.

        – Joe Strazzere
        9 hours ago






      • 1





        @JoeStrazzere certainly that, possibly both, but also could be identity theft as well.

        – Richard U
        9 hours ago






      • 10





        @RichardU - maybe. Fraud, Identity Theft and Identity Fraud all have specific legal meanings that usually depend on the locale. We need to be careful with these sorts of terms. I think we can all agree that what the company is doing is "bad". I'm not sure we can decide if it's actually illegal without more data than we currently have.

        – Joe Strazzere
        8 hours ago












      • 32





        Change your email immediately. And in the future never set something up that is not 100% work related using a work email. You may actually have a very difficult time making this change since often access to the old email can be used to reverse things like this. They will most certainly be notified, and they can change your password there now too at any time.

        – Bill Leeper
        9 hours ago






      • 10





        It's prima fascia fraud, anyone with basic HR knowledge knows that.

        – Richard U
        9 hours ago






      • 4





        @RichardU - if it is indeed fraud (and locale matters in that regard), then the fraud is being committed on the email recipients, not the OP.

        – Joe Strazzere
        9 hours ago






      • 1





        @JoeStrazzere certainly that, possibly both, but also could be identity theft as well.

        – Richard U
        9 hours ago






      • 10





        @RichardU - maybe. Fraud, Identity Theft and Identity Fraud all have specific legal meanings that usually depend on the locale. We need to be careful with these sorts of terms. I think we can all agree that what the company is doing is "bad". I'm not sure we can decide if it's actually illegal without more data than we currently have.

        – Joe Strazzere
        8 hours ago







      32




      32





      Change your email immediately. And in the future never set something up that is not 100% work related using a work email. You may actually have a very difficult time making this change since often access to the old email can be used to reverse things like this. They will most certainly be notified, and they can change your password there now too at any time.

      – Bill Leeper
      9 hours ago





      Change your email immediately. And in the future never set something up that is not 100% work related using a work email. You may actually have a very difficult time making this change since often access to the old email can be used to reverse things like this. They will most certainly be notified, and they can change your password there now too at any time.

      – Bill Leeper
      9 hours ago




      10




      10





      It's prima fascia fraud, anyone with basic HR knowledge knows that.

      – Richard U
      9 hours ago





      It's prima fascia fraud, anyone with basic HR knowledge knows that.

      – Richard U
      9 hours ago




      4




      4





      @RichardU - if it is indeed fraud (and locale matters in that regard), then the fraud is being committed on the email recipients, not the OP.

      – Joe Strazzere
      9 hours ago





      @RichardU - if it is indeed fraud (and locale matters in that regard), then the fraud is being committed on the email recipients, not the OP.

      – Joe Strazzere
      9 hours ago




      1




      1





      @JoeStrazzere certainly that, possibly both, but also could be identity theft as well.

      – Richard U
      9 hours ago





      @JoeStrazzere certainly that, possibly both, but also could be identity theft as well.

      – Richard U
      9 hours ago




      10




      10





      @RichardU - maybe. Fraud, Identity Theft and Identity Fraud all have specific legal meanings that usually depend on the locale. We need to be careful with these sorts of terms. I think we can all agree that what the company is doing is "bad". I'm not sure we can decide if it's actually illegal without more data than we currently have.

      – Joe Strazzere
      8 hours ago





      @RichardU - maybe. Fraud, Identity Theft and Identity Fraud all have specific legal meanings that usually depend on the locale. We need to be careful with these sorts of terms. I think we can all agree that what the company is doing is "bad". I'm not sure we can decide if it's actually illegal without more data than we currently have.

      – Joe Strazzere
      8 hours ago













      28














      Update your linkedin profile IMMEDIATELY, report possible fraud to them. Change the email from your work email to a private one.



      Get a lawyer to send a cease and desist order to your previous employer. Ask your lawyer about identity theft and criminal impersonation charges.



      Also ask your lawyer if you're permitted to reach out to the clients.






      share|improve this answer


















      • 3





        Note that, from LinkedIn's perspective, this can look a lot like someone pretending to be you to try to hijack your account (as opposed to you trying to hijack your account back from your former boss pretending to be you). If you didn't already have two-step verification or some other backup authentication method set up that isn't tied to your old work e-mail, you could have a hard time proving that you're really you.

        – Ilmari Karonen
        5 hours ago












      • LI was ask for proof of identity.

        – David Schwartz
        2 hours ago















      28














      Update your linkedin profile IMMEDIATELY, report possible fraud to them. Change the email from your work email to a private one.



      Get a lawyer to send a cease and desist order to your previous employer. Ask your lawyer about identity theft and criminal impersonation charges.



      Also ask your lawyer if you're permitted to reach out to the clients.






      share|improve this answer


















      • 3





        Note that, from LinkedIn's perspective, this can look a lot like someone pretending to be you to try to hijack your account (as opposed to you trying to hijack your account back from your former boss pretending to be you). If you didn't already have two-step verification or some other backup authentication method set up that isn't tied to your old work e-mail, you could have a hard time proving that you're really you.

        – Ilmari Karonen
        5 hours ago












      • LI was ask for proof of identity.

        – David Schwartz
        2 hours ago













      28












      28








      28







      Update your linkedin profile IMMEDIATELY, report possible fraud to them. Change the email from your work email to a private one.



      Get a lawyer to send a cease and desist order to your previous employer. Ask your lawyer about identity theft and criminal impersonation charges.



      Also ask your lawyer if you're permitted to reach out to the clients.






      share|improve this answer













      Update your linkedin profile IMMEDIATELY, report possible fraud to them. Change the email from your work email to a private one.



      Get a lawyer to send a cease and desist order to your previous employer. Ask your lawyer about identity theft and criminal impersonation charges.



      Also ask your lawyer if you're permitted to reach out to the clients.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 8 hours ago









      Richard URichard U

      102k73278410




      102k73278410







      • 3





        Note that, from LinkedIn's perspective, this can look a lot like someone pretending to be you to try to hijack your account (as opposed to you trying to hijack your account back from your former boss pretending to be you). If you didn't already have two-step verification or some other backup authentication method set up that isn't tied to your old work e-mail, you could have a hard time proving that you're really you.

        – Ilmari Karonen
        5 hours ago












      • LI was ask for proof of identity.

        – David Schwartz
        2 hours ago












      • 3





        Note that, from LinkedIn's perspective, this can look a lot like someone pretending to be you to try to hijack your account (as opposed to you trying to hijack your account back from your former boss pretending to be you). If you didn't already have two-step verification or some other backup authentication method set up that isn't tied to your old work e-mail, you could have a hard time proving that you're really you.

        – Ilmari Karonen
        5 hours ago












      • LI was ask for proof of identity.

        – David Schwartz
        2 hours ago







      3




      3





      Note that, from LinkedIn's perspective, this can look a lot like someone pretending to be you to try to hijack your account (as opposed to you trying to hijack your account back from your former boss pretending to be you). If you didn't already have two-step verification or some other backup authentication method set up that isn't tied to your old work e-mail, you could have a hard time proving that you're really you.

      – Ilmari Karonen
      5 hours ago






      Note that, from LinkedIn's perspective, this can look a lot like someone pretending to be you to try to hijack your account (as opposed to you trying to hijack your account back from your former boss pretending to be you). If you didn't already have two-step verification or some other backup authentication method set up that isn't tied to your old work e-mail, you could have a hard time proving that you're really you.

      – Ilmari Karonen
      5 hours ago














      LI was ask for proof of identity.

      – David Schwartz
      2 hours ago





      LI was ask for proof of identity.

      – David Schwartz
      2 hours ago











      7














      Legality definitely matters, but even if illegal, are you willing to hire lawyers and sue? What will the legality do to shape your response?



      To me the larger questions are around whether it’s ethical and more directly what’s the harm or value of what’s happening. You need to gauge whatever risk you are willing to undertake either by allowing them to pose as you or in fighting them. There are many facets here.



      That said, even if it is somehow legal I consider this a form of identity theft in principle. If it were me, I would do or at minimum strongly consider the following actions:



      • Change the email to which my LI account is linked;

      • Inform my former employer they absolutely do not have my consent to pose as me;

      • Suggest if they wish to retain the use of my existence, we should work out a suitable consulting arrangement;

      • Inform them of my intent to do the following if they do not cease posing as me; and

      • Contact my former client and vendor contacts/companies and alert them that it’s come to my attention that my former employer may be attempting to pose as me.

      Edit To be clear, in no way am I suggesting the OP's personally affiliated account be shared. The consulting angle implies the OP actually is a consultant and is responding themselves...not licensing use of their name to others.






      share|improve this answer




















      • 1





        Suppose a random person A who did not like the OP was able to log into OP's account because the managers told everyone to log into her account to see if any clients are calling her. Let's say person A saw the linkedin message from a potential employer and used that contact to ruin OP's chance of being hired? Not exactly a great situation for the employer, even if it's the action of another.

        – Dan
        9 hours ago











      • @Dan Agreed. One of the many scenarios where this overall sharing of the account is bad (in this case for both OP and former employer). "Let that be a lesson kids. Never ever share your passwords."

        – John Spiegel
        9 hours ago















      7














      Legality definitely matters, but even if illegal, are you willing to hire lawyers and sue? What will the legality do to shape your response?



      To me the larger questions are around whether it’s ethical and more directly what’s the harm or value of what’s happening. You need to gauge whatever risk you are willing to undertake either by allowing them to pose as you or in fighting them. There are many facets here.



      That said, even if it is somehow legal I consider this a form of identity theft in principle. If it were me, I would do or at minimum strongly consider the following actions:



      • Change the email to which my LI account is linked;

      • Inform my former employer they absolutely do not have my consent to pose as me;

      • Suggest if they wish to retain the use of my existence, we should work out a suitable consulting arrangement;

      • Inform them of my intent to do the following if they do not cease posing as me; and

      • Contact my former client and vendor contacts/companies and alert them that it’s come to my attention that my former employer may be attempting to pose as me.

      Edit To be clear, in no way am I suggesting the OP's personally affiliated account be shared. The consulting angle implies the OP actually is a consultant and is responding themselves...not licensing use of their name to others.






      share|improve this answer




















      • 1





        Suppose a random person A who did not like the OP was able to log into OP's account because the managers told everyone to log into her account to see if any clients are calling her. Let's say person A saw the linkedin message from a potential employer and used that contact to ruin OP's chance of being hired? Not exactly a great situation for the employer, even if it's the action of another.

        – Dan
        9 hours ago











      • @Dan Agreed. One of the many scenarios where this overall sharing of the account is bad (in this case for both OP and former employer). "Let that be a lesson kids. Never ever share your passwords."

        – John Spiegel
        9 hours ago













      7












      7








      7







      Legality definitely matters, but even if illegal, are you willing to hire lawyers and sue? What will the legality do to shape your response?



      To me the larger questions are around whether it’s ethical and more directly what’s the harm or value of what’s happening. You need to gauge whatever risk you are willing to undertake either by allowing them to pose as you or in fighting them. There are many facets here.



      That said, even if it is somehow legal I consider this a form of identity theft in principle. If it were me, I would do or at minimum strongly consider the following actions:



      • Change the email to which my LI account is linked;

      • Inform my former employer they absolutely do not have my consent to pose as me;

      • Suggest if they wish to retain the use of my existence, we should work out a suitable consulting arrangement;

      • Inform them of my intent to do the following if they do not cease posing as me; and

      • Contact my former client and vendor contacts/companies and alert them that it’s come to my attention that my former employer may be attempting to pose as me.

      Edit To be clear, in no way am I suggesting the OP's personally affiliated account be shared. The consulting angle implies the OP actually is a consultant and is responding themselves...not licensing use of their name to others.






      share|improve this answer















      Legality definitely matters, but even if illegal, are you willing to hire lawyers and sue? What will the legality do to shape your response?



      To me the larger questions are around whether it’s ethical and more directly what’s the harm or value of what’s happening. You need to gauge whatever risk you are willing to undertake either by allowing them to pose as you or in fighting them. There are many facets here.



      That said, even if it is somehow legal I consider this a form of identity theft in principle. If it were me, I would do or at minimum strongly consider the following actions:



      • Change the email to which my LI account is linked;

      • Inform my former employer they absolutely do not have my consent to pose as me;

      • Suggest if they wish to retain the use of my existence, we should work out a suitable consulting arrangement;

      • Inform them of my intent to do the following if they do not cease posing as me; and

      • Contact my former client and vendor contacts/companies and alert them that it’s come to my attention that my former employer may be attempting to pose as me.

      Edit To be clear, in no way am I suggesting the OP's personally affiliated account be shared. The consulting angle implies the OP actually is a consultant and is responding themselves...not licensing use of their name to others.







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited 7 hours ago

























      answered 9 hours ago









      John SpiegelJohn Spiegel

      1,04128




      1,04128







      • 1





        Suppose a random person A who did not like the OP was able to log into OP's account because the managers told everyone to log into her account to see if any clients are calling her. Let's say person A saw the linkedin message from a potential employer and used that contact to ruin OP's chance of being hired? Not exactly a great situation for the employer, even if it's the action of another.

        – Dan
        9 hours ago











      • @Dan Agreed. One of the many scenarios where this overall sharing of the account is bad (in this case for both OP and former employer). "Let that be a lesson kids. Never ever share your passwords."

        – John Spiegel
        9 hours ago












      • 1





        Suppose a random person A who did not like the OP was able to log into OP's account because the managers told everyone to log into her account to see if any clients are calling her. Let's say person A saw the linkedin message from a potential employer and used that contact to ruin OP's chance of being hired? Not exactly a great situation for the employer, even if it's the action of another.

        – Dan
        9 hours ago











      • @Dan Agreed. One of the many scenarios where this overall sharing of the account is bad (in this case for both OP and former employer). "Let that be a lesson kids. Never ever share your passwords."

        – John Spiegel
        9 hours ago







      1




      1





      Suppose a random person A who did not like the OP was able to log into OP's account because the managers told everyone to log into her account to see if any clients are calling her. Let's say person A saw the linkedin message from a potential employer and used that contact to ruin OP's chance of being hired? Not exactly a great situation for the employer, even if it's the action of another.

      – Dan
      9 hours ago





      Suppose a random person A who did not like the OP was able to log into OP's account because the managers told everyone to log into her account to see if any clients are calling her. Let's say person A saw the linkedin message from a potential employer and used that contact to ruin OP's chance of being hired? Not exactly a great situation for the employer, even if it's the action of another.

      – Dan
      9 hours ago













      @Dan Agreed. One of the many scenarios where this overall sharing of the account is bad (in this case for both OP and former employer). "Let that be a lesson kids. Never ever share your passwords."

      – John Spiegel
      9 hours ago





      @Dan Agreed. One of the many scenarios where this overall sharing of the account is bad (in this case for both OP and former employer). "Let that be a lesson kids. Never ever share your passwords."

      – John Spiegel
      9 hours ago











      5














      Company owns your email address (for example natasha.nice@yourcompany.com ) so they could theoretically re-use it, however impersonating someone (especially to obtain financial gain) is strictly forbidden in most civilized societies. For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud.



      I advise you to write polite but firm letter to your former company, asking them to cease and desist with this behavior. If they don't respond contact legal professional in your area. In some jurisdictions you could even contact police.



      As for LinkedIn, email with the proof of your identity (document issued by your government with the purpose of identification) is enough to close down fraudulent profile.






      share|improve this answer























      • It's also a common practice, at least in the US, to keep the e-mail accounts of certain former employees active to receive new mail for some time after their departure. However, access is usually granted through someone else's own account, or some other generic account, and any responses are tagged as sent by "y" on behalf of "x". Rather than impersonating the departed individual, this is simply a means of ensuring client communications aren't "lost" during the transition.

        – BryKKan
        6 hours ago











      • "For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud." It is not itself fraud; rather, it can be used to commit fraud.

        – Acccumulation
        6 hours ago















      5














      Company owns your email address (for example natasha.nice@yourcompany.com ) so they could theoretically re-use it, however impersonating someone (especially to obtain financial gain) is strictly forbidden in most civilized societies. For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud.



      I advise you to write polite but firm letter to your former company, asking them to cease and desist with this behavior. If they don't respond contact legal professional in your area. In some jurisdictions you could even contact police.



      As for LinkedIn, email with the proof of your identity (document issued by your government with the purpose of identification) is enough to close down fraudulent profile.






      share|improve this answer























      • It's also a common practice, at least in the US, to keep the e-mail accounts of certain former employees active to receive new mail for some time after their departure. However, access is usually granted through someone else's own account, or some other generic account, and any responses are tagged as sent by "y" on behalf of "x". Rather than impersonating the departed individual, this is simply a means of ensuring client communications aren't "lost" during the transition.

        – BryKKan
        6 hours ago











      • "For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud." It is not itself fraud; rather, it can be used to commit fraud.

        – Acccumulation
        6 hours ago













      5












      5








      5







      Company owns your email address (for example natasha.nice@yourcompany.com ) so they could theoretically re-use it, however impersonating someone (especially to obtain financial gain) is strictly forbidden in most civilized societies. For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud.



      I advise you to write polite but firm letter to your former company, asking them to cease and desist with this behavior. If they don't respond contact legal professional in your area. In some jurisdictions you could even contact police.



      As for LinkedIn, email with the proof of your identity (document issued by your government with the purpose of identification) is enough to close down fraudulent profile.






      share|improve this answer













      Company owns your email address (for example natasha.nice@yourcompany.com ) so they could theoretically re-use it, however impersonating someone (especially to obtain financial gain) is strictly forbidden in most civilized societies. For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud.



      I advise you to write polite but firm letter to your former company, asking them to cease and desist with this behavior. If they don't respond contact legal professional in your area. In some jurisdictions you could even contact police.



      As for LinkedIn, email with the proof of your identity (document issued by your government with the purpose of identification) is enough to close down fraudulent profile.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 10 hours ago









      rs.29rs.29

      1853




      1853












      • It's also a common practice, at least in the US, to keep the e-mail accounts of certain former employees active to receive new mail for some time after their departure. However, access is usually granted through someone else's own account, or some other generic account, and any responses are tagged as sent by "y" on behalf of "x". Rather than impersonating the departed individual, this is simply a means of ensuring client communications aren't "lost" during the transition.

        – BryKKan
        6 hours ago











      • "For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud." It is not itself fraud; rather, it can be used to commit fraud.

        – Acccumulation
        6 hours ago

















      • It's also a common practice, at least in the US, to keep the e-mail accounts of certain former employees active to receive new mail for some time after their departure. However, access is usually granted through someone else's own account, or some other generic account, and any responses are tagged as sent by "y" on behalf of "x". Rather than impersonating the departed individual, this is simply a means of ensuring client communications aren't "lost" during the transition.

        – BryKKan
        6 hours ago











      • "For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud." It is not itself fraud; rather, it can be used to commit fraud.

        – Acccumulation
        6 hours ago
















      It's also a common practice, at least in the US, to keep the e-mail accounts of certain former employees active to receive new mail for some time after their departure. However, access is usually granted through someone else's own account, or some other generic account, and any responses are tagged as sent by "y" on behalf of "x". Rather than impersonating the departed individual, this is simply a means of ensuring client communications aren't "lost" during the transition.

      – BryKKan
      6 hours ago





      It's also a common practice, at least in the US, to keep the e-mail accounts of certain former employees active to receive new mail for some time after their departure. However, access is usually granted through someone else's own account, or some other generic account, and any responses are tagged as sent by "y" on behalf of "x". Rather than impersonating the departed individual, this is simply a means of ensuring client communications aren't "lost" during the transition.

      – BryKKan
      6 hours ago













      "For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud." It is not itself fraud; rather, it can be used to commit fraud.

      – Acccumulation
      6 hours ago





      "For example , in US it amounts to a criminal fraud." It is not itself fraud; rather, it can be used to commit fraud.

      – Acccumulation
      6 hours ago











      2














      I imagine you'd have to go see a lawyer. In terms of ownership, your employer "owns" your email address. So they are allowed to view the contents and/or make appropriate adjustments. There are certain protections but it depends on your country as far as what your employer may view and keep. It may also depend on your country but I would imagine so long as they are using it to direct their business then it is perfectly legal. Now if they are using it to pretend to be you by protective reasons (doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, bank login, etc) then no, that would definitely not be legal.



      Key reason you should not be signing up for LinkedIn with your work account that is not work related. Hopefully you did not do anything important with the account or contacted anyone non-work related. Definitely update any email addresses on various sites, and be sure to contact anyone not related to work that your email has changed.






      share|improve this answer





























        2














        I imagine you'd have to go see a lawyer. In terms of ownership, your employer "owns" your email address. So they are allowed to view the contents and/or make appropriate adjustments. There are certain protections but it depends on your country as far as what your employer may view and keep. It may also depend on your country but I would imagine so long as they are using it to direct their business then it is perfectly legal. Now if they are using it to pretend to be you by protective reasons (doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, bank login, etc) then no, that would definitely not be legal.



        Key reason you should not be signing up for LinkedIn with your work account that is not work related. Hopefully you did not do anything important with the account or contacted anyone non-work related. Definitely update any email addresses on various sites, and be sure to contact anyone not related to work that your email has changed.






        share|improve this answer



























          2












          2








          2







          I imagine you'd have to go see a lawyer. In terms of ownership, your employer "owns" your email address. So they are allowed to view the contents and/or make appropriate adjustments. There are certain protections but it depends on your country as far as what your employer may view and keep. It may also depend on your country but I would imagine so long as they are using it to direct their business then it is perfectly legal. Now if they are using it to pretend to be you by protective reasons (doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, bank login, etc) then no, that would definitely not be legal.



          Key reason you should not be signing up for LinkedIn with your work account that is not work related. Hopefully you did not do anything important with the account or contacted anyone non-work related. Definitely update any email addresses on various sites, and be sure to contact anyone not related to work that your email has changed.






          share|improve this answer















          I imagine you'd have to go see a lawyer. In terms of ownership, your employer "owns" your email address. So they are allowed to view the contents and/or make appropriate adjustments. There are certain protections but it depends on your country as far as what your employer may view and keep. It may also depend on your country but I would imagine so long as they are using it to direct their business then it is perfectly legal. Now if they are using it to pretend to be you by protective reasons (doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, bank login, etc) then no, that would definitely not be legal.



          Key reason you should not be signing up for LinkedIn with your work account that is not work related. Hopefully you did not do anything important with the account or contacted anyone non-work related. Definitely update any email addresses on various sites, and be sure to contact anyone not related to work that your email has changed.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 10 hours ago









          Chris E

          41.2k24131169




          41.2k24131169










          answered 10 hours ago









          DanDan

          10k31734




          10k31734





















              2














              Congratulations on taking action to get free of a toxic environment!

              A lot of people just put up with it.



              This is advice for next time (for you) and for any others that might be considering this:



              Set your out of office and your voice mail greeting just before you turn in your notice.

              Don't say anything nasty towards the company, just a simple:




              "I am no longer available.

              You can contact [whoever] to get a new representative."




              Replace [whoever] with your boss's name, email of the sales department, or anything generic (not a specific person unless that person is a manager/supervisor in charge of your work).



              You'll note I said "just before" because if they walk you out, you may not have a chance to do it just after you turn in your notice.




              While this isn't a direct answer to your question, I do think it is helpful enough to not just be a comment

              (and it is my comment on another answer)






              share|improve this answer























              • I would also add that you might set the effective time for your OOO reply to some later time in case some circumstances in the process of leaving and you decide to delay or cancel your departure. Imagine they offer you a nice bonus to stay another month and you agree, only to have 7 clients get your OOO reply while in the meeting!

                – BryKKan
                6 hours ago






              • 4





                Since any company will already have access to all own email accounts regardless of the particular situation the OP is in, this is pointless, since any company computer admin can legally reverse the change.

                – alephzero
                6 hours ago















              2














              Congratulations on taking action to get free of a toxic environment!

              A lot of people just put up with it.



              This is advice for next time (for you) and for any others that might be considering this:



              Set your out of office and your voice mail greeting just before you turn in your notice.

              Don't say anything nasty towards the company, just a simple:




              "I am no longer available.

              You can contact [whoever] to get a new representative."




              Replace [whoever] with your boss's name, email of the sales department, or anything generic (not a specific person unless that person is a manager/supervisor in charge of your work).



              You'll note I said "just before" because if they walk you out, you may not have a chance to do it just after you turn in your notice.




              While this isn't a direct answer to your question, I do think it is helpful enough to not just be a comment

              (and it is my comment on another answer)






              share|improve this answer























              • I would also add that you might set the effective time for your OOO reply to some later time in case some circumstances in the process of leaving and you decide to delay or cancel your departure. Imagine they offer you a nice bonus to stay another month and you agree, only to have 7 clients get your OOO reply while in the meeting!

                – BryKKan
                6 hours ago






              • 4





                Since any company will already have access to all own email accounts regardless of the particular situation the OP is in, this is pointless, since any company computer admin can legally reverse the change.

                – alephzero
                6 hours ago













              2












              2








              2







              Congratulations on taking action to get free of a toxic environment!

              A lot of people just put up with it.



              This is advice for next time (for you) and for any others that might be considering this:



              Set your out of office and your voice mail greeting just before you turn in your notice.

              Don't say anything nasty towards the company, just a simple:




              "I am no longer available.

              You can contact [whoever] to get a new representative."




              Replace [whoever] with your boss's name, email of the sales department, or anything generic (not a specific person unless that person is a manager/supervisor in charge of your work).



              You'll note I said "just before" because if they walk you out, you may not have a chance to do it just after you turn in your notice.




              While this isn't a direct answer to your question, I do think it is helpful enough to not just be a comment

              (and it is my comment on another answer)






              share|improve this answer













              Congratulations on taking action to get free of a toxic environment!

              A lot of people just put up with it.



              This is advice for next time (for you) and for any others that might be considering this:



              Set your out of office and your voice mail greeting just before you turn in your notice.

              Don't say anything nasty towards the company, just a simple:




              "I am no longer available.

              You can contact [whoever] to get a new representative."




              Replace [whoever] with your boss's name, email of the sales department, or anything generic (not a specific person unless that person is a manager/supervisor in charge of your work).



              You'll note I said "just before" because if they walk you out, you may not have a chance to do it just after you turn in your notice.




              While this isn't a direct answer to your question, I do think it is helpful enough to not just be a comment

              (and it is my comment on another answer)







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered 7 hours ago









              J. Chris ComptonJ. Chris Compton

              5,9221334




              5,9221334












              • I would also add that you might set the effective time for your OOO reply to some later time in case some circumstances in the process of leaving and you decide to delay or cancel your departure. Imagine they offer you a nice bonus to stay another month and you agree, only to have 7 clients get your OOO reply while in the meeting!

                – BryKKan
                6 hours ago






              • 4





                Since any company will already have access to all own email accounts regardless of the particular situation the OP is in, this is pointless, since any company computer admin can legally reverse the change.

                – alephzero
                6 hours ago

















              • I would also add that you might set the effective time for your OOO reply to some later time in case some circumstances in the process of leaving and you decide to delay or cancel your departure. Imagine they offer you a nice bonus to stay another month and you agree, only to have 7 clients get your OOO reply while in the meeting!

                – BryKKan
                6 hours ago






              • 4





                Since any company will already have access to all own email accounts regardless of the particular situation the OP is in, this is pointless, since any company computer admin can legally reverse the change.

                – alephzero
                6 hours ago
















              I would also add that you might set the effective time for your OOO reply to some later time in case some circumstances in the process of leaving and you decide to delay or cancel your departure. Imagine they offer you a nice bonus to stay another month and you agree, only to have 7 clients get your OOO reply while in the meeting!

              – BryKKan
              6 hours ago





              I would also add that you might set the effective time for your OOO reply to some later time in case some circumstances in the process of leaving and you decide to delay or cancel your departure. Imagine they offer you a nice bonus to stay another month and you agree, only to have 7 clients get your OOO reply while in the meeting!

              – BryKKan
              6 hours ago




              4




              4





              Since any company will already have access to all own email accounts regardless of the particular situation the OP is in, this is pointless, since any company computer admin can legally reverse the change.

              – alephzero
              6 hours ago





              Since any company will already have access to all own email accounts regardless of the particular situation the OP is in, this is pointless, since any company computer admin can legally reverse the change.

              – alephzero
              6 hours ago











              1














              While they can still use your work email since it belongs to the company they probably cannot ask your coworkers to impersonate you. I would seek the advice of a lawyer immediately.



              As for your Linkedln profile, once again if you created it with your work email they have control of this account as well. You do not need to give them your login information as they can simply reset it with the email that they have control over.



              Regardless, seek legal advice regarding the company impersonating you.



              If you have the contact information for your former clients, you can reach out to them and let them know you quit the company and that any emails appearing to come from yourself are not actually from yourself.






              share|improve this answer























              • I would just use any client contact information and contact they and just say you have left the company and it was a pleasure working with them. Let them draw their own conclusions as to any future conversation utilises your form email

                – Ed Heal
                10 hours ago











              • Given the ease to "forward" the email, I don't see any reason they should be using the OP's email other than to catch and redirect anything they were working on at the time. If the employer is allowing random employees to log into her account, then that might open the door for (possibly civil only) action.

                – Dan
                10 hours ago
















              1














              While they can still use your work email since it belongs to the company they probably cannot ask your coworkers to impersonate you. I would seek the advice of a lawyer immediately.



              As for your Linkedln profile, once again if you created it with your work email they have control of this account as well. You do not need to give them your login information as they can simply reset it with the email that they have control over.



              Regardless, seek legal advice regarding the company impersonating you.



              If you have the contact information for your former clients, you can reach out to them and let them know you quit the company and that any emails appearing to come from yourself are not actually from yourself.






              share|improve this answer























              • I would just use any client contact information and contact they and just say you have left the company and it was a pleasure working with them. Let them draw their own conclusions as to any future conversation utilises your form email

                – Ed Heal
                10 hours ago











              • Given the ease to "forward" the email, I don't see any reason they should be using the OP's email other than to catch and redirect anything they were working on at the time. If the employer is allowing random employees to log into her account, then that might open the door for (possibly civil only) action.

                – Dan
                10 hours ago














              1












              1








              1







              While they can still use your work email since it belongs to the company they probably cannot ask your coworkers to impersonate you. I would seek the advice of a lawyer immediately.



              As for your Linkedln profile, once again if you created it with your work email they have control of this account as well. You do not need to give them your login information as they can simply reset it with the email that they have control over.



              Regardless, seek legal advice regarding the company impersonating you.



              If you have the contact information for your former clients, you can reach out to them and let them know you quit the company and that any emails appearing to come from yourself are not actually from yourself.






              share|improve this answer













              While they can still use your work email since it belongs to the company they probably cannot ask your coworkers to impersonate you. I would seek the advice of a lawyer immediately.



              As for your Linkedln profile, once again if you created it with your work email they have control of this account as well. You do not need to give them your login information as they can simply reset it with the email that they have control over.



              Regardless, seek legal advice regarding the company impersonating you.



              If you have the contact information for your former clients, you can reach out to them and let them know you quit the company and that any emails appearing to come from yourself are not actually from yourself.







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered 10 hours ago









              sf02sf02

              10.7k71941




              10.7k71941












              • I would just use any client contact information and contact they and just say you have left the company and it was a pleasure working with them. Let them draw their own conclusions as to any future conversation utilises your form email

                – Ed Heal
                10 hours ago











              • Given the ease to "forward" the email, I don't see any reason they should be using the OP's email other than to catch and redirect anything they were working on at the time. If the employer is allowing random employees to log into her account, then that might open the door for (possibly civil only) action.

                – Dan
                10 hours ago


















              • I would just use any client contact information and contact they and just say you have left the company and it was a pleasure working with them. Let them draw their own conclusions as to any future conversation utilises your form email

                – Ed Heal
                10 hours ago











              • Given the ease to "forward" the email, I don't see any reason they should be using the OP's email other than to catch and redirect anything they were working on at the time. If the employer is allowing random employees to log into her account, then that might open the door for (possibly civil only) action.

                – Dan
                10 hours ago

















              I would just use any client contact information and contact they and just say you have left the company and it was a pleasure working with them. Let them draw their own conclusions as to any future conversation utilises your form email

              – Ed Heal
              10 hours ago





              I would just use any client contact information and contact they and just say you have left the company and it was a pleasure working with them. Let them draw their own conclusions as to any future conversation utilises your form email

              – Ed Heal
              10 hours ago













              Given the ease to "forward" the email, I don't see any reason they should be using the OP's email other than to catch and redirect anything they were working on at the time. If the employer is allowing random employees to log into her account, then that might open the door for (possibly civil only) action.

              – Dan
              10 hours ago






              Given the ease to "forward" the email, I don't see any reason they should be using the OP's email other than to catch and redirect anything they were working on at the time. If the employer is allowing random employees to log into her account, then that might open the door for (possibly civil only) action.

              – Dan
              10 hours ago












              0














              It’s probably Ok to keep using your email address. There may be some problems: if you were highly experienced and valued by customers, and you are replaced by someone much less competent, and customers only find out when they are asked to pay for shoddy work performed under your name, that could be a problem. If your reputation suffers, that could be a problem. If your new employers reputation suffers because it looks like their best man is not an employee but working for more than one company, that would be a problem.



              So it’s not the reusing of the email address that causes them legal problems, but any consequences.






              share|improve this answer



























                0














                It’s probably Ok to keep using your email address. There may be some problems: if you were highly experienced and valued by customers, and you are replaced by someone much less competent, and customers only find out when they are asked to pay for shoddy work performed under your name, that could be a problem. If your reputation suffers, that could be a problem. If your new employers reputation suffers because it looks like their best man is not an employee but working for more than one company, that would be a problem.



                So it’s not the reusing of the email address that causes them legal problems, but any consequences.






                share|improve this answer

























                  0












                  0








                  0







                  It’s probably Ok to keep using your email address. There may be some problems: if you were highly experienced and valued by customers, and you are replaced by someone much less competent, and customers only find out when they are asked to pay for shoddy work performed under your name, that could be a problem. If your reputation suffers, that could be a problem. If your new employers reputation suffers because it looks like their best man is not an employee but working for more than one company, that would be a problem.



                  So it’s not the reusing of the email address that causes them legal problems, but any consequences.






                  share|improve this answer













                  It’s probably Ok to keep using your email address. There may be some problems: if you were highly experienced and valued by customers, and you are replaced by someone much less competent, and customers only find out when they are asked to pay for shoddy work performed under your name, that could be a problem. If your reputation suffers, that could be a problem. If your new employers reputation suffers because it looks like their best man is not an employee but working for more than one company, that would be a problem.



                  So it’s not the reusing of the email address that causes them legal problems, but any consequences.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 9 hours ago









                  gnasher729gnasher729

                  90.8k41161285




                  90.8k41161285





















                      0














                      Do you still have access to your work email?
                      IMHO, you should have sent clients a "dear john" letter when quit.



                      Currently you can only update your linkedIn profile to put past in the past



                      Regarding linkedIn - its your account and i would suggest changing email its linked to personal one, if you don`t have one now, there are lots of free ones.






                      share|improve this answer


















                      • 2





                        I have to disagree with telling clients you are leaving. That's a work issue that the company should handle. Obviously, they shouldn't handle it by faking, but how and when internal company issues get communicated to customers is up to the company.

                        – DaveG
                        8 hours ago











                      • @DaveG Workplace is workplace, but lots of service positions based on personal relationships and person`s reputation transcends one particular workplace. OP already stated that workplace was toxic, easy for pretenders to ruin her reputation for further job search or even clients endorsements for linked in or even as potential employers in the future

                        – Strader
                        8 hours ago












                      • I wouldn't recommend sending any sort of notice when you quit. Probably okay to set your out of office message before you go though - I will post as an answer to see if there is a good rebuttal to this.

                        – J. Chris Compton
                        7 hours ago















                      0














                      Do you still have access to your work email?
                      IMHO, you should have sent clients a "dear john" letter when quit.



                      Currently you can only update your linkedIn profile to put past in the past



                      Regarding linkedIn - its your account and i would suggest changing email its linked to personal one, if you don`t have one now, there are lots of free ones.






                      share|improve this answer


















                      • 2





                        I have to disagree with telling clients you are leaving. That's a work issue that the company should handle. Obviously, they shouldn't handle it by faking, but how and when internal company issues get communicated to customers is up to the company.

                        – DaveG
                        8 hours ago











                      • @DaveG Workplace is workplace, but lots of service positions based on personal relationships and person`s reputation transcends one particular workplace. OP already stated that workplace was toxic, easy for pretenders to ruin her reputation for further job search or even clients endorsements for linked in or even as potential employers in the future

                        – Strader
                        8 hours ago












                      • I wouldn't recommend sending any sort of notice when you quit. Probably okay to set your out of office message before you go though - I will post as an answer to see if there is a good rebuttal to this.

                        – J. Chris Compton
                        7 hours ago













                      0












                      0








                      0







                      Do you still have access to your work email?
                      IMHO, you should have sent clients a "dear john" letter when quit.



                      Currently you can only update your linkedIn profile to put past in the past



                      Regarding linkedIn - its your account and i would suggest changing email its linked to personal one, if you don`t have one now, there are lots of free ones.






                      share|improve this answer













                      Do you still have access to your work email?
                      IMHO, you should have sent clients a "dear john" letter when quit.



                      Currently you can only update your linkedIn profile to put past in the past



                      Regarding linkedIn - its your account and i would suggest changing email its linked to personal one, if you don`t have one now, there are lots of free ones.







                      share|improve this answer












                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer










                      answered 8 hours ago









                      StraderStrader

                      4,3361730




                      4,3361730







                      • 2





                        I have to disagree with telling clients you are leaving. That's a work issue that the company should handle. Obviously, they shouldn't handle it by faking, but how and when internal company issues get communicated to customers is up to the company.

                        – DaveG
                        8 hours ago











                      • @DaveG Workplace is workplace, but lots of service positions based on personal relationships and person`s reputation transcends one particular workplace. OP already stated that workplace was toxic, easy for pretenders to ruin her reputation for further job search or even clients endorsements for linked in or even as potential employers in the future

                        – Strader
                        8 hours ago












                      • I wouldn't recommend sending any sort of notice when you quit. Probably okay to set your out of office message before you go though - I will post as an answer to see if there is a good rebuttal to this.

                        – J. Chris Compton
                        7 hours ago












                      • 2





                        I have to disagree with telling clients you are leaving. That's a work issue that the company should handle. Obviously, they shouldn't handle it by faking, but how and when internal company issues get communicated to customers is up to the company.

                        – DaveG
                        8 hours ago











                      • @DaveG Workplace is workplace, but lots of service positions based on personal relationships and person`s reputation transcends one particular workplace. OP already stated that workplace was toxic, easy for pretenders to ruin her reputation for further job search or even clients endorsements for linked in or even as potential employers in the future

                        – Strader
                        8 hours ago












                      • I wouldn't recommend sending any sort of notice when you quit. Probably okay to set your out of office message before you go though - I will post as an answer to see if there is a good rebuttal to this.

                        – J. Chris Compton
                        7 hours ago







                      2




                      2





                      I have to disagree with telling clients you are leaving. That's a work issue that the company should handle. Obviously, they shouldn't handle it by faking, but how and when internal company issues get communicated to customers is up to the company.

                      – DaveG
                      8 hours ago





                      I have to disagree with telling clients you are leaving. That's a work issue that the company should handle. Obviously, they shouldn't handle it by faking, but how and when internal company issues get communicated to customers is up to the company.

                      – DaveG
                      8 hours ago













                      @DaveG Workplace is workplace, but lots of service positions based on personal relationships and person`s reputation transcends one particular workplace. OP already stated that workplace was toxic, easy for pretenders to ruin her reputation for further job search or even clients endorsements for linked in or even as potential employers in the future

                      – Strader
                      8 hours ago






                      @DaveG Workplace is workplace, but lots of service positions based on personal relationships and person`s reputation transcends one particular workplace. OP already stated that workplace was toxic, easy for pretenders to ruin her reputation for further job search or even clients endorsements for linked in or even as potential employers in the future

                      – Strader
                      8 hours ago














                      I wouldn't recommend sending any sort of notice when you quit. Probably okay to set your out of office message before you go though - I will post as an answer to see if there is a good rebuttal to this.

                      – J. Chris Compton
                      7 hours ago





                      I wouldn't recommend sending any sort of notice when you quit. Probably okay to set your out of office message before you go though - I will post as an answer to see if there is a good rebuttal to this.

                      – J. Chris Compton
                      7 hours ago










                      Natasha is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.









                      draft saved

                      draft discarded


















                      Natasha is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












                      Natasha is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.











                      Natasha is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.














                      Thanks for contributing an answer to The Workplace Stack Exchange!


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid


                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                      draft saved


                      draft discarded














                      StackExchange.ready(
                      function ()
                      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworkplace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f133270%2fis-it-legal-for-company-to-use-my-work-email-to-pretend-i-still-work-there%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                      );

                      Post as a guest















                      Required, but never shown





















































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown

































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown











                      Popular posts from this blog

                      How to create a command for the “strange m” symbol in latex? Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern)How do you make your own symbol when Detexify fails?Writing bold small caps with mathpazo packageplus-minus symbol with parenthesis around the minus signGreek character in Beamer document titleHow to create dashed right arrow over symbol?Currency symbol: Turkish LiraDouble prec as a single symbol?Plus Sign Too Big; How to Call adfbullet?Is there a TeX macro for three-legged pi?How do I get my integral-like symbol to align like the integral?How to selectively substitute a letter with another symbol representing the same letterHow do I generate a less than symbol and vertical bar that are the same height?

                      Българска екзархия Съдържание История | Български екзарси | Вижте също | Външни препратки | Литература | Бележки | НавигацияУстав за управлението на българската екзархия. Цариград, 1870Слово на Ловешкия митрополит Иларион при откриването на Българския народен събор в Цариград на 23. II. 1870 г.Българската правда и гръцката кривда. От С. М. (= Софийски Мелетий). Цариград, 1872Предстоятели на Българската екзархияПодмененият ВеликденИнформационна агенция „Фокус“Димитър Ризов. Българите в техните исторически, етнографически и политически граници (Атлас съдържащ 40 карти). Berlin, Königliche Hoflithographie, Hof-Buch- und -Steindruckerei Wilhelm Greve, 1917Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars

                      Чепеларе Съдържание География | История | Население | Спортни и природни забележителности | Културни и исторически обекти | Религии | Обществени институции | Известни личности | Редовни събития | Галерия | Източници | Литература | Външни препратки | Навигация41°43′23.99″ с. ш. 24°41′09.99″ и. д. / 41.723333° с. ш. 24.686111° и. д.*ЧепелареЧепеларски Linux fest 2002Начало на Зимен сезон 2005/06Национални хайдушки празници „Капитан Петко Войвода“Град ЧепелареЧепеларе – народният ски курортbgrod.orgwww.terranatura.hit.bgСправка за населението на гр. Исперих, общ. Исперих, обл. РазградМузей на родопския карстМузей на спорта и скитеЧепеларебългарскибългарскианглийскитукИстория на градаСки писти в ЧепелареВремето в ЧепелареРадио и телевизия в ЧепелареЧепеларе мами с родопски чар и добри пистиЕвтин туризъм и снежни атракции в ЧепелареМестоположениеИнформация и снимки от музея на родопския карст3D панорами от ЧепелареЧепелареррр