That coffee shop Wi-Fi in Austin almost got me

I was at a busy cafe off South Congress last week, logging into their 'free guest network' to check my bank app. Turned out the SSID was a spoofed hotspot set up right next to the real one, and my phone auto-connected to it before I noticed. Anyone else ever walked into a place and seen two identical network names, or am I just paranoid now?

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1 Comment

lewis.charlie22d ago

Man, that's wild but honestly not shocking anymore. It feels like every public space is turning into a trap these days, not just coffee shops. Airports, malls, even my gym has two networks now, one legit and one that looks legit but is probably some scammer's laptop in the corner. I've started treating any free Wi-Fi like it's poisoned, which is a bummer because I used to love hopping on random hotspots. The whole thing makes me wonder if we're all just one dumb click away from getting our bank accounts drained while we sip a latte. Good on you for catching it, most people would've just typed in their password and moved on with their day. Stay sharp out there.