Account accessed by third party and files deleted

[Stella 49]

Hi, first time posting.
I have an issue with a friend who’s wife had a paid for account and who sadly passed away last year. Husband is not great on computers. She was a successful business woman, who had a lot stored on Dropbox.We opened a computer of hers which is recognised on Dropbox and a notification came up stating 14,000 files had been deleted. It wasn’t the husband, he doesn’t know how to use Dropbox. There are 18 recognised devices registered on this account, most have been inactive for a while. Is there any way of finding out which specific device deleted these files? Is there any way of retrieving these files? I’ve tried searching for ways to contact Dropbox but only found “here” or a bot. Can anyone suggest anything?

[Megan]

Hi @Stella 49, welcome to our Community and happy March 1st! 

As for the deletion that took place on the account you're investigating for, you'd need to first restore the file, then check for the "previous version history" on the website, in order to check more as to what happened, and where it came from.

Dropbox keeps a copy of all files for 30 days after they are deleted for Basic accounts. Provided that the files were deleted within that time period, you should be able to access the events page, and restore any content you might need. 

Can you give this a go?

Keep me posted! 

[Stella 49]

Hi,
Thanks for your response and apologies for the delay in coming back to you. I found a lot of deleted files in a back up folder, but nowhere near the amount shown in the notification. These have been downloaded to a pc. I did see that deleted files are stored for 180 days in the back up folder before being permanently deleted and am wondering if they were deleted 180 days ago, so the notification last week was just confirming they had been removed. It’s a difficult program to get around if you’re not used to it. Thanks again 😊

[Mark]

The Events log often only lists for 180 days if you are paid. Sometimes its longer, however, restored are limited to that - if you are paid at time of deletion. If things were removed before that (or 30 days for free users) they are not recoverable. 

[Stella 49]

Thanks for your message, the account is paid and was last paid at the end of last year for a year

[Mark]

Great, so recovery would be 180 days 🙂

Does the Events log go beyond that? 

Were the files in a Share? If they were and it was unshared that doesnt show up on the log 

[Stella 49]

There is nothing in the event log, there is nothing in the general deleted folder, only in the back up deleted folder. The files aren’t showing as shared. As mentioned before, I have downloaded the files in the back up section, the husband cannot understand why these files would have been deleted, they were important docs.
The main issue now is finding out about the thousands of files that were supposedly deleted last week. Will Dropbox be able to shed any light if we were to contact them?

[Megan · Accepted solution]

Hi @Stella 49, I'd suggest that you contact our Support team directly. 

They might be able to give you more info on this, since they have the ability to look at account-specific info on your account. 

I hope this helps!