"We got a text three weeks after the funeral. It said €78 in probate file fees were still outstanding, with a link. My sister nearly paid — she was in no state to check anything."
This account, heard at a victim support organisation, sums up a poorly documented reality: a person's death does not end their digital existence, least of all their mobile line. The number lives on. It receives marketing messages, subscription reminders, verification codes — and sometimes perfectly targeted attempts at fraud, because scammers know that a grieving family checks less, signs faster, and doesn't dare ask questions.
This guide describes what actually happens, on the carrier side and the messaging side, in the months following a death. And above all what to do, and in what order, to stop a phone from becoming a way into the estate.
What happens to a mobile line when its account holder dies
Nothing, by default
This is the point almost nobody anticipates: a carrier is not informed of a death. There is no automatic transfer of information between civil registry offices and telecom operators. Until someone takes action, the contract runs on, the direct debit keeps going, and the line remains reachable.
In practice, in the weeks that follow:
- the plan is billed as usual from the deceased's account, or from a relative's account if they were paying on their behalf;
- the number keeps receiving marketing texts, banking notifications, medical appointment reminders;
- if the SIM card is in a phone that is switched on, two-factor authentication codes still arrive — from their bank, their online accounts, their email.
That last point is the most sensitive. A phone that is switched on, unlocked, sitting in a drawer or left in a care-home room, is an access key to financial accounts that form part of the estate's assets.
Cancellation due to death: a protected right
The French Postal and Electronic Communications Code provides for cancellation with no fees and no notice period in the event of the account holder's death. It is a right, not a commercial favour, and every carrier has a dedicated procedure (often a postal address for a "bereavement department" or an online form).
You will generally need to provide:
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Death certificate (copy) | Proof of the triggering event |
| Proof of identity of the applicant | Verification of status as a beneficiary |
| Customer reference or line number | Identification of the contract |
| Affidavit of heirship or family record book | Proof of relationship, often requested |
| Bank details for the estate account | Refund of any overpayments |
In most cases the request is made by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt: it is the only enforceable proof if the carrier keeps taking payments. A pack of registered-mail forms filled in ahead of time saves you improvising at the post office counter on a day when you have no energy for it — in practice, there are several near-identical letters to send (mobile carrier, internet provider, energy supplier, insurers).
Expect two to six weeks of processing on average. During that period, the line stays active. That is precisely the window scammers exploit.
Why bereavement attracts SMS scams
Information that travels fast
A death is not a secret. It appears in online obituaries, in association newsletters, on social media, sometimes in the regional daily press. These sources are public and indexed. They give a name, a town, a date, sometimes the list of relatives named in the death notice.
From there, a scammer has context: they know that an identifiable family is going through a period of intense administrative paperwork. That is exactly the terrain of smishing — phishing by text message — which works by latching onto a genuine expectation. You don't click on a parcel delivery text because you're naive, but because you're expecting a parcel. You don't click on a "probate fees" text out of stupidity, but because you genuinely are expecting letters from a notary.
The most common scenarios
Victim support organisations and the aggregated reports on the Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr platform highlight several recurring patterns around estates:
- Fake notary or probate file fees. A text announces a balance due, with a link to a payment page imitating a notary's office website. Worth remembering: a notary never demands payment by text with a link, and their fees are taken from the estate's funds.
- The fake carrier adjustment. "Your contract has been cancelled; an outstanding balance of €43.90 must be settled to close the file." The amount is small, plausible, and plays on the fact that the family has just requested a cancellation.
- The fake funeral insurer. The message mentions a death benefit to be released, and asks for bank details and ID. This is data harvesting intended to open credit in the name of the deceased or their heirs.
- The fake bank adviser scam, estate edition. An alert text about the deceased's account, followed by a call: "We need to secure the funds before the account is frozen."
- Fraudulent contact from the deceased's own number. If the phone is lost or stolen with an active SIM, messages can be sent from the real number to everyone in the contacts list. The psychological effect on loved ones is devastating.
No government body, no bank and no notary ever settles an estate by text message with a link. A message asking you to pay, to enter bank details or to "confirm your identity" via a link is fraudulent, without exception.
The first ten days: the order of operations
In the rush, many families start by cancelling the line. That's the wrong sequence: once the line is cut off, some accounts become impossible to recover, and messages stored on the SIM card or the phone can be lost for good.
1. Physically secure the phone
First of all: retrieve the device and put it out of reach. A phone left lying around in a house open to visitors, in a healthcare facility or in a vehicle is an immediate risk of identity theft.
If the device is locked and nobody knows the passcode, don't keep trying: some models wipe their data after several failed attempts. Better to put it away as it is, ideally in an antistatic pouch or a small document storage box with the rest of the paperwork to deal with, and check later with the notary what is legally possible.
2. Turn off notification previews on the lock screen
If you have access to the phone, disable the display of message content on the lock screen. This prevents a banking verification code from being readable without unlocking the device. It's a thirty-second change, in the notification settings.
3. Save the messages the family wants to keep
This is the point nobody anticipates and everybody regrets. The text conversations of someone who has died often carry considerable emotional value: the last exchanges, the birthday messages, the photos sent by MMS.
Once the line is cancelled and the phone reset or sold on, it all disappears. A few simple precautions:
- Never reset the device before extracting what you want to keep.
- Export the important conversations. Almost all messaging apps offer a chat export option, and a full backup of the phone to a computer remains the safest method. A 2 TB external hard drive offers plenty of room for an entire phone, photos included.
- Failing that, photograph the conversation screens. It's crude, but it's better than nothing — and it's often enough for what has sentimental value.
- Consider printing them out too. Several families have had the last exchanges bound into a pocket photo album, which creates an object that can be passed on and no longer depends on an account or a file format.
4. Document suspicious texts before deleting them
If fraudulent messages have already arrived, don't delete them straight away. Forward them to 33700, the French national reporting service for SMS spam and fraud: you forward the message to 33700, then, in reply, the sender's number. It's free and it feeds into the carriers' blocking work.
Also keep a screenshot: if financial harm occurs, it will be useful when filing a complaint.
5. Warn the inner circle
A clear message to family and friends, stating that the number must no longer be used and that any message coming from that number is suspect, prevents a great deal of grief. This matters especially if the phone has not been found.
Cancelling properly: the how-to
What to ask for explicitly
In your cancellation letter, set out three separate requests — many families make only one and find themselves chased for payment months later:
- Cancellation of the contract with no fees or notice period, on the grounds of the account holder's death, with the desired effective date.
- Immediate cessation of all direct debits and a refund of any amounts taken after the date of death, to the estate account.
- Deletion of the personal data associated with the line, beyond the legally required retention periods (billing data must be kept for one year for tax and evidentiary reasons).
This third point rests on the GDPR and on the French Data Protection Act. The CNIL points out that data rights are not automatically passed on to heirs, but that heirs can act to have accounts closed and to object to the processing of a deceased person's data. A person can also, during their lifetime, have registered instructions about what happens to their data after death.
Don't forget the services tied to the number
A mobile number serves as an identification key for a host of services. Cutting it off without going through them all leaves behind active accounts linked to a number that will be reassigned to another subscriber after a quarantine period (several months depending on the carrier, under ARCEP supervision).
Draw up the list:
- bank accounts and payment apps;
- email accounts and social media;
- subscriptions paid by direct debit (streaming, gym, press);
- online shopping accounts with a saved card;
- online government and administrative accounts.
A paper password notebook, stored with the estate paperwork, remains the simplest way to centralise these credentials during the months the process takes — provided you keep it locked away, of course.
What if the phone can't be recovered?
A common scenario: the device was lost at the hospital, stolen, or simply can't be found. The priority changes completely.
Ask the carrier for immediate suspension of the line before even starting the definitive cancellation. Suspension is quick, often obtainable over the phone with the contract identification details, and it neutralises the SIM card. That is what stops a third party using the number to receive codes or send messages to contacts.
Straight after that, report the loss or theft to the police. And notify the deceased's bank: a death normally triggers the freezing of accounts, but that freeze only takes effect once the bank has been informed.
Preparing during your lifetime: the step nobody takes
There is a simple way to spare your loved ones all of this: write down, once, where things are.
Not necessarily the passwords themselves, but:
- what the phone's unlock code is, or where it is written down;
- which carrier, which customer reference;
- which subscriptions are debited from which account;
- what you want kept or erased.
This document fits on a single page. Stored with the important papers, or entrusted to the notary, it turns a week of fumbling into three phone calls. Several practical guides to estate administration set out the full list of steps to plan for, and this digital page belongs firmly among them — it has even become one of the most useful chapters.
Key reflexes to remember
| Situation | Immediate reflex |
|---|---|
| Text demanding probate fees | Never click. Check with the notary on a number you already know. |
| Text from the "carrier" demanding an outstanding balance | Log into your account through the app, never through the link. |
| Request for bank details or ID by text | A scam 100% of the time. Report it to 33700. |
| Phone can't be found | Urgent line suspension, then file a police report. |
| Cancellation | Registered post with acknowledgement of receipt, death certificate, request for data erasure. |
Bereavement is a time when vigilance drops, paperwork piles up and people sign documents without always reading them. Scammers know this, and they build their messages around that very fragility. The best protection is not an app or a filter: it's knowing, in advance, that no legitimate institution ever settles an estate with a text message containing a link.
If in doubt, two reflexes are enough: never reply to the message, and call the organisation back on a number you looked up yourself. If the damage is already done, Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr and 17 Cyber will point you to the right procedures and the right professionals. And 33700 remains the simplest collective gesture: every report makes the next campaign a little less effective.
