Got my LinkedIn account hacked after using a weak password at a coffee shop in Austin

I was at a Starbucks off Congress Avenue last Tuesday grabbing a latte and hopped on their free WiFi to check my LinkedIn messages. Didn't think twice about it since I always use the same basic password like 'password123' for everything. Next morning I got an email saying someone logged in from Brazil and started spamming my connections with crypto scams. Had to spend 3 hours resetting passwords and explaining to my old coworkers what happened. Anyone else been through this and found a password manager that actually works for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_baker2d ago

Wait hold on. You logged onto public WiFi at a coffee shop and used the same password for everything? I'm genuinely shocked that wasn't the first thing that made you pause. That's like leaving your car keys in the ignition with the windows down and being surprised when someone takes it for a joyride. But man, three hours of damage control sounds brutal. Having to explain to old coworkers why your account was pushing crypto garbage on them is a special kind of awkward. I still cringe thinking about my dad falling for a similar scam on Facebook a few years back. Bitwarden is solid for the price tag, but honestly just using a different password for important stuff would have saved you a lot of headache. Maybe write them down on paper and keep it in your wallet like a normal person.

williams.sage2d ago

Oh so your 'password123' wasn't hack-proof? Shocking. Who would have guessed that using the same password you set up for your AOL account back in 2003 wouldn't cut it? Haha but seriously, that Brazil crypto spam move is annoyingly common. I use Bitwarden personally, it's free and not too complicated to set up. Just make sure you turn on two factor authentication for everything too, because apparently coffee shop WiFi is basically spy central.

holly_reed552d ago

The "spy central" part got me lol. That coffee shop WiFi thing is no joke. My buddy @williams.sage actually got his whole Instagram taken over last year because he was checking his email on the free WiFi at a Starbucks. Dude had to make a whole new account because the hackers changed his recovery email and phone number before he even noticed. I swear public WiFi is like the wild west these days, you never know who's lurking.