{"id":4438,"date":"2023-03-06T15:23:49","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T15:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devotedgrandma.com\/?p=4438"},"modified":"2023-03-06T15:26:44","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T15:26:44","slug":"protecting-yourself-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devotedgrandma.com\/technology\/protecting-yourself-online\/","title":{"rendered":"A Scammer Stole So Much From Me. Here’s How I’m Making Sure It Never Happens Again."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
It took me years before I ever told anyone this story. I felt a lot of shame and embarrassment about it but now I realize that being silent allows these scammers to continue thriving and finding new victims!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This happened to me 3 years ago…<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was an otherwise normal day. I woke up, made a cup off coffee and got on my computer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I was devastated when I opened it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing would load and everything was lost. All my family photos, my recipes, my email contacts – it was all gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn’t know how it happened, but looking back, I remember getting an email that looked like it was from my bank, asking me to click on a link to confirm my account details. Without thinking, I clicked on the link and entered my username and password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s all it took. One innocent click that looked completely real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a phishing scam that gave hackers access to everything on my computer. I didn’t understand how they could do this, and I felt like such a fool. I couldn’t believe I fell for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The feeling of loss not to mention intrusion still makes me sick to my stomach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time, I did go to my grandson who is good with computers to ask him what to do. Thank God he is a wizz and was able to use his computer magic to retrieve my files!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, the hackers had already gained access to my credit cards and stole several hundred dollars. I worked with the bank on this but it was a nightmare all around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It became important to me to make sure this never happens again. It was especially concerning because I did have an anti-virus installed! I don’t know why it didn’t work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n