Three years ago I saw a guy get hacked and now the whole system feels different

Ngl I was just scrolling random forums back in 2021 and watched a live stream where someone's bank account got drained in real time. They clicked one fake link from a 'FedEx' text and within 4 minutes their checking account went from $2,400 to zero. At the time I thought it was some rare thing that only happens to careless people. But fast forward to last month when my buddy who works IT at a local hospital in Toledo told me their whole patient data got locked up by ransomware. They paid $50,000 in Bitcoin to get it back and the FBI still couldn't trace where it went. Now I see those same phishing texts coming to my crew's phones every other week. Makes me wonder if the whole internet is just one big trap we're all walking into. Anyone else notice how these scams got way more specific and harder to spot compared to 5 years ago?

3 comments

3 Comments

valw3616d ago

That part about the hospital paying 50k in Bitcoin and the FBI not tracing it is exactly what I've been reading about. I saw a report recently saying ransomware groups are basically operating like real businesses now with customer support and everything.

elliot4516d ago

@valw36 yeah the customer support thing is wild. It makes sense though when you think about how everything else is turning into a subscription service.

paulschmidt14d agoMost Upvoted

Man, tell me about it. I had a run-in with a fake "tech support" scam last year and they actually sent me a follow-up email asking if everything got resolved. It's like they're running a real business with call centers and everything now.