Don't Leave the Blackberry Lying Around

Governments and corporations aren’t the only ones parsing through private emails, the New York Times reports: The culprit is just as likely to be a spouse hunting for proof of infidelity. One divorce lawyer says that electronic evidence plays a role “in just about every case now.” As long as it’s from a shared computer, or passwords have been exchanged, it can be legal to steal a loved one’s private missives.

One spouse admits to feeling guilty about spying; another felt violated when she found a GPS tracker on the family car. But Lawyers warn that privacy is an old-fashioned concept in the digital age. Every keystroke entered on a computer can be dug up in divorce court: “The only thing you can truly erase these things with is a specialty Smith & Wesson product,” a lawyer says. (More divorce stories.)