s it illegal to try to log into someone else's online account e.g. Email, Ebay, etc.?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Carolina. A friend of mine's previous employer has threatened legal action because they tried to log into her Email & Ebay accounts on the day that she abruptly let them go. As an employer she had given them all of her account passwords...and had not expressly revoked their privileges to access her accounts at the time that the attempts were made. The passwords had been changed without any notice so my friend tried to guess the secret questions in order to get in. Is this person at risk for any legal action from the former employer? Please note that the accounts were never actually accessed under the new passwords, but only attempts were made. ANY advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated! This person can't exactly afford any legal hassle after being let go without any notice or severance. We could use some relief from this worry. Thanks!

P.S. The employer is threatening legal action for Tampering, Identity Theft, & Breach of Trust. It must also be noted that the Employer is an individual who sells from an ID on ebay...not a registered business with the BBB or any other organization.

Triple post.

Your post is confusing. Did your "friend's" former employer try to log into her ebay account or did your "friend" try to log into her former employer's ebay account?

Either way, I don't think there is any criminal activity if the account was not actually accessed fraudulently by either party. Perhaps your "friend" should change her password so that other parties cannot access her accounts. And even if there was an attempt to access another parties account, how would you go about proving it?