I walked into work on Monday morning, feeling refreshed after the long weekend. I slid into my chair at my cubicle and hit the power button on my laptop. As soon as it turned on, I logged in and opened a tab with my emails. Usually after a long weekend, I have several emails from my boss giving me a list of things to do. I scrolled to the first email, all the way at the bottom of the page. But surprisingly, this one was not from the same email as the others were.  I took a sip of my coffee and opened the email curiously. I read the words inside of my head and then read them again, in horror, to make sure I had read it properly.

To: mark7777@gmail.com

From: bestbank@gmail.com

Subject: Account Breach Notification

Good morning

We are emailing you to inform you that your bank account has been hacked and several purchases have been made. Please follow this link and sign in to cancel these purchases and protect your account from future attacks.

I bite my lip in thought. I had only recently created an account with this bank but it was already seeming like a bad idea. The only problem is, I had only put $20 into the account. I glance at the time nervously. I had to get started on my work soon if I wanted to finish it before I go home. But, this email seemed to be more important. If I planned on using the same bank account in the future, and even if I didn’t, I should fix this problem quickly. My account had other important information too like my phone number, address, and birthday. I reread the email but, look out for the details this time

It was sent on Saturday at 4:32 PM. But, the email says Good Morning at the top which is kind of strange. It could be because these kinds of emails are usually sent using robots that use the basic outline of an email and fill in the details however, it does seem a little weird. I hover over the link in the email for a second but, quickly change my mind. The logging in and verifying process might take too long, and I’m still at work. I click reply and start typing up an email.  

To: bestbank@gmail.com

From: mark7777@gmail.com

Subject: Account Breach

Thank you for informing me about the hacking of my account. Is it likely that a similar event might happen in the future?

I only get through typing two sentences when I see a notification on the top of my screen. It says that I have gotten a new email. I wait for the words “draft saved” to pop up before closing it out and opening the new email. Surprisingly, it is not from my boss but the same account as the other email from the bank. I open the email quickly and start reading.

To: mark7777@gmail.com

From: bestbank@gmail.com

Subject: Account Breach Follow-Up

Please log on to the website we sent you. The longer you delay this action, the more severe the hack will be on your account.