Got phished at a coffee shop wifi last month

I was at a Starbucks downtown grabbing a quick espresso between client sessions. Connected to their free wifi like always, and a popup asked me to verify my email through a Google login. Typed in my credentials before I realized the URL was g00gle-login.co, not real Google. Someone cloned the whole login page and I handed over my password like a fool. Has anyone else run into fake login portals at public wifi spots?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery6292mo ago

Dude yes! This exact scenario happened to me last year at a Panera. I was trying to log into my work email and a popup said my session expired so I typed everything in. It wasn't until I couldn't get back into my account later that I realized the URL was panera-wifi-portal.com or something sketchy. Now I always check the URL bar like three times before typing anything. Also started using a VPN on public wifi ever since.

averym821mo ago

@avery629 I feel you on the URL thing, that's exactly what got me too. After that happened I started using a password manager that autofills credentials only on the real site. It's saved me at least twice since then when I almost typed my login into some fake portal at a hotel lobby. Also switched to using my phone as a hotspot instead of trusting free wifi for anything important. What password manager do you use?

jordan3051mo ago

Honestly, I kinda disagree, password managers scare me more than typing into a wrong URL.