Used to click links in emails without thinking until my bank account got drained last October

I was so careless back then. I'd get an email saying 'your package is delayed' or 'verify your account' and I'd just click the link. Didn't even look at the sender address. Then one morning I woke up to $340 missing from my checking account. Someone had my login info from a fake Chase email I fell for. Now I type URLs in manually or use bookmarks. Never click anything from an email anymore. Has anyone else had to learn the hard way like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

rileygarcia1mo ago

Man I learned that exact same way. Got hit with a fake PayPal email about a "suspicious login" and handed over my password like an idiot. $200 gone before I even woke up. Now I treat every email link like it's radioactive.

aaron_mitchell1mo ago

Kinda feels like this is being blown out of proportion though. I mean yeah it sucks to lose money but I've clicked plenty of email links over the years and nothing ever happened. Half the time its just a coupon or a newsletter I actually wanted. Bank fraud protection usually covers most of that stuff anyway, you just file a claim and they give it back. People act like every single email is a trap when the reality is most of them are harmless. I'm not saying be totally careless but there's a middle ground between clicking everything and living in fear.

aaronsullivan1mo ago

Dude I just read this article about how hackers are using AI now to make those fake emails look super legit. Makes me glad I started checking URLs like a maniac after getting burned. Better paranoid than broke I guess.