Have you ever been hacked? Two weeks ago, I was taken on a Merry Go Round ride by a hacker. Here are some things I learned not to do.
I was going through my email and noticed a purchase through a well-known website. There wasn’t any way I had made that purchase.
MISTAKES # 1 & 2
So, I decided to call the support line, I took it for granted that the support number that was on that site was to the company.
Mistake #1:
Wrong, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Never take things for granted. After four hours on the phone with this guy, he decided he was going to send me a refund form, and to do that, he needed access to my computer.
Mistake number 2:
Once he had accessed my computer, the man I was talking to was able to capture my IP address. Totally unaware of his motives, I went along with everything he asked me to do. I believed I was talking to the support team from the website the purchase was on. He said he sent me a refund form that promptly appeared on my screen. I filled out the form with the amount he told me to enter. He promptly added a zero to that amount and made it look like I did it. I immediately asked to speak to his supervisor.
The supposed supervisor of the hacker crew tried to convince me that I needed to go buy gift cards to send to them.
I felt humiliated and ashamed that I would allow anything like this to happen to me. The feeling of total vulnerability. I was in a total panic. I even asked the man I was speaking with if “these people didn’t have anything better to do with their lives. He just laughed. It wasn’t funny to me at all.. There are so many of us who are so unsuspecting and vulnerable. I hear stories all the time..
WHAT TO DO
Immediately change all of your user IDs and passwords. When I reached the bank and went in, I immediately asked to speak to a banker. I explained I was hacked She asked how I knew. I told her there was extra money showing in my account. They had transposed the amount of money on my bank website. She looked up at me and shook her head. There isn’t any money there. At that point, we changed everything all my accounts, debit cards, everything. By the time I got to the bank the next day, who knew how much information they had?
RED FLAGS
NEVER, EVER buy gift cards to fund anything suspicious to you. The first RED FLAG. The hacker was very persistant that I go to CVS, Family Dollar, or any other store that sold gift cards. I told him absolutley not. That made him very angry. The second RED FLAG was when he told me not to say anything to anyone. He said if they ask at the bank, don’t tell them why you want the money. I have learned a very hard and potentially expensive lesson. One I will not soon forget.
In conclusion, please be careful who and what you do or answer to on the internet. I have learned to check out the websites I am dealing with and not to take them at face value. Not only did I change everything with my accounts, but I also had a computer person check out my computers. He told me what to do to keep my information safe.
They are out there and ready to take advantage of YOU!!! Please Beware!!! Get a good security program on your computers. It is well worth it. Don’t be a VICTIM!!!