PSA: That free wifi at Denver airport cost me my login credentials

I was waiting for a 3 hour layover at Denver International and connected to their guest wifi to check emails. Next morning I got 14 password reset attempts on my bank account from some random IP in Russia. Now I only use my phone's hotspot or a VPN when I'm at airports, period. Has anyone else had something sketchy happen after using public airport wifi?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_patricia14d ago

My cousin works in IT security and told me a story about a guy who lost 8k because of a fake airport wifi network named "Denver_Free_WiFi_Official" that was actually a hotspot set up in a McDonald's across the street. That's why I always double check with airport staff which network is legit and keep my VPN on the whole time anyway. Bank password reset alerts are no joke, I'd change all your passwords on a trusted device and set up two factor authentication if you haven't already.

mila_perry1314d ago

You know, I used to be kind of careless about public wifi, figured it was fine as long as I wasn't buying anything. But reading this changed my mind completely. That Denver airport story is scary because it feels like something I could totally fall for, especially in a hurry. I'm going to start asking staff which network is real from now on, and maybe look into a VPN myself. Your advice about password resets on a trusted device makes a lot of sense too, better safe than sorry.