Scoffed at my roommate's VPN obsession until I saw her credit card statement

My roommate in college has been using a VPN for years just for basic stuff like Netflix and shopping. I always joked she was being paranoid. Then last month she showed me her credit card statement from a trip she took to Chicago - zero fraud charges. Meanwhile I had $340 in sketchy charges from a hotel booking I made on public WiFi. She said the VPN blocked a tracking script on the booking site. Now I use one too but still feel weird about it. Anyone else have a moment where you stopped thinking a privacy tool was overkill?

1 comments

1 Comment

kim_martin2d ago

Learned that lesson the hard way too. Switched to a VPN after my bank called about a $200 charge from a random gas station in another state. Now I never connect to public WiFi without it on. Honestly feels like wearing a seatbelt now, just part of the routine.