Former McGill student wins $350,000 lawsuit after ex logs into email account and deletes acceptance email

Former McGill student wins $350,000 lawsuit after ex logs into email account and deletes acceptance email

June 25, 2018

A story made national headlines last week when former McGill University student Eric Abramovitz was awarded $350,000 in a lawsuit against his ex-girlfriend who logged into his email account and derailed his musical career.

Back in 2013, Abramovitz applied to study at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, hoping to study under esteemed clarinet teacher Yehuda Gilad. The teacher only accepts two new students per year from the dozens who apply. The young clarinetist was sent an email on March 27, 2014, which told him he had been accepted and was being offered a full scholarship to study with Gilad.

However, Abramovitz’ girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Jooyeon Lee, accessed his email – as he had trusted her with his laptop and his passwords – and deleted the acceptance letter. But first, she responded to it, in Abramovitz’s name, declining the offer because he would “be elsewhere”.

Not stopping there, Lee created a fake email to make it appear to come from Gilad, saying that Abramovitz had not been accepted at the Conservatory of Music.

“I never would’ve even considered that the person I trusted the most would have done something like this to me.” Says Agbramovitz, in an interview with the Washington Post.

This story is just one of the many reminders of why password security is crucial. Even if you trust someone, never share your password. Relationships can end, employees leave jobs, and passwords can be misused in many different ways.

Image courtesy of pixabay.com
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