Before I go into the next lesson I've learned, let me share a bit.
This morning I woke up around 3:30 am. My mind was PLAGUED with anxiety. I kept hearing this incessant Voice saying that I needed to change passwords, needed to transfer some Hive out of my account, needed to update my printed file, etc. All security crypto stuff. For twenty minutes, I kept trying to shut the voices up and go BACK to sleep. I kept thinking "I'll do it as soon as I wake up!"
And I hadn't.
I didn't care. I wanted to sleep, and I certainly wasn't going to wake up and do it NOW.
or so I thought.
I finally opened my eyes, grabbed my phone, and started going through the many DMs in discord awaiting me. I opened @sofs-su DM first.
She had been hacked. She sat there in disbelief, seeing that money go from her wallet to another. All of it. All of her hard-earned Hive and HBD that she was planning to powerup for PUD tomorrow. Gone.
BEFORE I CONTINUE, EVERY DIME OF THIS POST PAYOUT IS GOING TO HER, TO HELP RECOVER WHAT SHE'S LOST (and yes, I'm self-voting to give her more.)
You might not know @sofs-su, or - you might! She's only been here for about a month. She is one of the people that we met through Uptrennd, and invited here after that platform died. She is an incredible writer, great engager, beautiful photographer, and a gentle soul. She makes HIVE brighter with her presence.
Go to @wwefun's wallet - and you'll see that he/she has been doing this to a lot of people since 2018. He/she works with (or has an alt account) @stepshotfoto where they drop comments telling people to come vote for their witness. Newbies get a LOT of spam comments, and they don't realize what phishing sites/messages look like. Sofs learned the hard way when she entered her active key into a popup. Within a short amount of time - the transaction occurred, leaving her with nothing.
As you know from my previous posts, this doesn't just happen with newbies. This happens with oldbies (like me) that should know better, but just get complacent. One mistake and it's all gone.
(EDIT - BEWARE OF THE @kpd-244 account also. @davedickeyyall just saw him in another comment section with the same slimy scam. Wish we knew their real names and faces so we could pull them into the light for all to see who they are.)
So part 1 of this lesson is check sites carefully.
Make SURE that you are on the right site with the EXACT spelling of a word. When you are using your higher powered keys (like active key) make CERTAIN that you are initiating that transaction from a site that you trust and know well.
Never ever use your master key to post! - DO NOT LOG IN WITH OR SAVE YOUR MASTER KEY/ PASSWORD/ OWNER KEY. Keep it offline and safe. Do NOT save it in autofillers!
Part 2 of this lesson is IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, RUN!
This is a huge problem. Thieves are just looking to take advantage of every possible opportunity. They do not care that they hurt you. They do not care that you have loss. They think it's your own fault and that you deserved it.
When you sense that someone is trying to lure you in - just run. Run away and tell others of anything suspicious.
Part 3 of this lesson is SHARE THEIR NAMES ON BLAST AND HELP OTHERS.
I immediately went to our discord and notified "everyone". Yep - super annoying to get that everyone notification - but when it's important, I'll do it in a second.
I know how it feels to lose everything that you've worked so hard to build. Doesn't matter if it's earnings from a day, a week, a year - its YOURS, and no one else has the right to it. You feel so sick after it's happened. Usually, the ONLY thing you get to do - is help others.
My hack was much too big for any human being to help me recover that. The FBI has not said a thing (I'm sure they get thousands of reports a day), and I've had to take a deep breath and move on. But Sofs has only been here for a month. And if you want? YOU CAN HELP and it will only cost you an upvote!
Not only that - but it will help spread the word about this scam, and could help a lot of newbies. (or oldbies that have become complacent!)
Photo by Mitchell Orr on Unsplash
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay