If you have a spare phone that you can use for it (that you don't give to anyone and, preferably, is not connected to your name), then that should be your 2FA phone. (Linux users, you're pretty much fine.) That should be on your phone, too.Ģ) 2 factor authentication, on everything that supports it. So, if you think you're not an idiot, let me run you through a checklist of things you must have.ġ) An active antivirus. I didn't have 2 factor authentication on anything (even my Paypal! I thought I did, but I did not.) I wasn't paying attention to what I was downloading. My passwords sucked, and were shared among many sites (remind me to change my FLF password too). I quickly figured out that even though I thought it was common sense, I was not following those rules. The second question weighed heavily on my mind, though, and after some searches I found a lot of 'duh, common sense' kind of answers. And, worst of all, I did not have the proper security on my Paypal account.

It happened to me because I was an easy target. Well, the answer to the first question was clear. I took several hours to watch Youtube videos, read articles, and scour interviews with security professionals and experts to figure out 2 things: (1) Why did this happen to me, and (2) How can I make sure it doesn't happen again? And, after calling my bank, I might only stand to lose $300. I was lucky that all they took was $1200. Many viruses and backdoors remain undetected, and they could be on your computer right now. It's my fault, and I'm responsible.Īfter several virus scans with different software, I found out that I was, indeed, infected.

It's not Paypal's fault, and Paypal isn't responsible. I don't know.Īll I know, is that I was vulnerable. Or they had my password and simply spoofed both my MAC and IP addresses. Or a remote access backdoor into my computer. I kept saying 'f*ck Paypal' over and over, until I realized what had happened. Call your bank and have them stop the transactions. Upon calling Paypal to rectify the solution, they told me that those transactions were properly authorized by me, from my computer (!), from my IP address. A few days ago, I woke up with about ~$1200 USD (in different currencies) taken from various bank accounts via Paypal transactions I didn't make.

Mac demarco this old dog leak reditr