Warning: That free Wi-Fi at the coffee shop almost got my bank account drained

Last Tuesday I was grabbing a latte at Brew House in downtown Austin and hopped on their free network. Three hours later I get a fraud alert from my bank about a $450 charge at a store I never been to. I realized the network had no password and anyone could have been sniffing traffic. Now I only use my phone hotspot at cafes and tell everyone I know to do the same. Has anyone else had a close call with public Wi-Fi?

3 comments

3 Comments

david_jones381mo ago

Did you always just connect to any open network like I used to?

susanb341mo ago

Not really, I got more careful after my friend @davis.noah got his identity stolen from a fake Starbucks login page. That one was nasty - looked legit but grabbed his credit card info the second he connected. Now I only use open networks for quick browsing, never logging into banking or anything with passwords. Even then I'll use a VPN if I have one handy. Better safe than dealing with a hacked account for months.

davis.noah1mo ago

Oh yeah, I was that person sitting in a coffee shop parking lot getting free Wi-Fi on my laptop like a total creep.