Had to choose between a free VPN and paying $5 a month for one after getting hacked last month

Logged into my bank account and saw 3 charges from a game site I never heard of. Total was about $180. I had been using a free VPN from some random app for 6 months because hey, free is free right. Switched to a paid one after that mess, ProtonVPN for $5 a month. Cost me way more to deal with the fraud stuff than just paying for decent protection upfront. Anyone else get burned by a free service and learn the hard way?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sam23d ago

Dunno, sounds like the free VPN might not have been the real problem. Could have been the random app you downloaded or some sketchy site you visited. I've used free VPNs for years without any issues, just gotta pick one thats been around for a while. The bank would have refunded your $180 eventually anyway, fraud protection covers that stuff.

hayes.elliot22d ago

Right, because the bank is just handing out refunds like candy while you wait on hold for an hour and fill out a mountain of paperwork. Nothing says "not suspicious" like a free VPN that's been around long enough to collect data on everyone. The $180 was probably already spent on crypto by the time the fraud department got around to reading the first email.