The Chaos Started With Strange Emails
If you’ve never been part of a data breach, consider yourself lucky. One winter day, I suddenly started receiving a bunch of “thanks for subscribing” emails from random stores all over the world. Okay, weird. Then an email from Walmart popped up saying my pickup order would be ready soon. I definitely hadn’t placed a pickup order.
I didn’t click any links in the email (hello phishing scam). Instead, I called the Walmart listed in the message, which was in Louisville. They confirmed someone got into my account and ordered groceries, some electronics, and a big-screen TV. Aw, heck no. I canceled the order and called my local sheriff’s office. He told me there wasn’t much time to set up any kind of sting, and thieves like this often get away with it, which really burns my biscuits.
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Turns out my passwords were part of a data breach that had been leaked on the dark web. Most people don’t have separate passwords for every account, so hackers try your password on different shopping sites and can order til the cows come home until you notice. I can only assume they sent me that barrage of shopping emails so I wouldn’t notice the Walmart one coming through.
My password was a simple fix. And even if they had gotten away with their big heist, I could just call my credit card and get a refund. But for those who lose their entire identity to hackers, life can be complete hell.
Your Data Lives Everywhere
Whether you realize it or not, businesses, medical companies, organizations, and even schools store data about you. And that data is valuable…