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Warning about public Wi-Fi at the Denver airport last month
Honestly, I was just trying to kill time before my flight and logged onto the airport's free guest network. I needed to check my bank account quick to see if a deposit cleared. About two days later, I got an alert for a $47 charge at a gas station in Florida. I was still in Colorado. The IT guy at my work said it was likely a 'man in the middle' attack from that public hotspot, where they can see everything you type. He told me to always use my phone's hotspot for anything personal now, or at the very least, a VPN. I felt so stupid because I knew better, but I got lazy. Ngl, it took me a week of calls to get the bank to reverse the charge. Has anyone else had a close call like this at an airport or hotel?
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thomasgonzalez1d ago
Sounds a bit overblown to me. Most public wifi uses basic encryption now, so grabbing your bank login isn't that simple. That random charge could have been from a skimmer at a store you used weeks ago. Sure, use a VPN if you're paranoid, but calling a phone hotspot a must is just fear mongering.
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cole_murphy1d ago
Man, that's rough. Getting that fraud alert after just checking your balance is the worst feeling. @miller.thomas is right, they write about this stuff for a reason. My cousin had her Instagram hijacked after using hotel wifi, and it was a whole mess to get back. Public networks are just not worth the risk anymore. I stick to my mobile data for anything with a password now, no exceptions.
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