45 Infuriating Screenshots Of People Who Got Way Too Comfortable Leeching From Someone’s Accounts
Like it or not, digital security has become an intrinsic part of your day. Passwords and even biometric data now affect large chunks of your life—from work to leisure. However, if you get a bit lax with your passwords and hand them out like candy, or you are unlucky enough to get hacked, things can take an uncomfortable turn. There are also uncomfortable moments when you uncover that someone’s been leeching off your account for ages without you realizing it.
Our team at Bored Panda has traveled to the far corners of the internet to compile this list of the biggest password-sharing fails and most unpleasant hacks ever. Scroll down to check them out. If this won’t convince you to keep your passwords strong and secret, then nothing will.
Bored Panda wanted to learn more about why people feel so strongly about their digital privacy, so we reached out to Phil Reed, a professor of psychology at Swansea University and the host of the 'Digital World, Real World' blog on Psychology Today. He was kind enough to shed some light on the issue for us. You'll find his insights as you read on.
This post may include affiliate links.
My Son Failed To Inform Me That His Ex-Roommate Was A Netflix Freeloader
We had a lecture at university where the professor had routinely written "draw" when they meant "drawer". He was drawing (no pun intended) analogies with the Windows user interface. We also had a guest lecturer who kept using the word "rythmn" throughout her slides. Just because someone is educated doesn't mean they can spell (equally, general poor spelling can be an indication someone is not educated...)
Load More Replies...I gave my grandson the access to my Netflix account. I don't know who he shared that with but I checked usage history and there were now several users and they were watching hours of Mexican soap operas and changed the language preference and on the account to Spanish. I hit the log off all devices button and immediately changed the password. Lesson learned.
Password sharing is a well-known phenomenon among Netflix subscribers. The basic idea was that you’d get the cheapest subscription and then share it among a few people. They might be your family members, friends, neighbors, romantic partners, or random acquaintances.
The problem is that this makes your account very vulnerable. Namely, you can’t control who else gets your password. So you might’ve found random members of your community using your sub.
Netflix has been cracking down on password sharing very heavily. AP reports that the video streaming service has also been raising prices in order to bring in more revenue. So far, it’s been a success for the company.
From July to September 2023, Netflix brought in 8.8 million new subscribers over the globe. This shows just how broadly password sharing took place. But the real numbers are even more shocking.
Person Who Hacked My Credit Card Emailed Me Asking Why I Canceled His Flight
Context missing. Was it your boyfriend, brother? It is just sounds unbelievable, that random thief will email you and he even signs with own name…
When my info was stolen the genius used my email address so I got his order confirmation with his home address and everything.
This one made me laugh. The audacity of being offended that someone whose credit card you stole cancelled your flight is just… mind boggling
The audacity and stupidity. Now you have proof as to who stole your credit card and what they bought. Easy one for the police.
Response: It is cancelled because you decided to be a dum-dum and hack into my card details thinking I wouldn't notice. Oh, by the way, better cancel that family event because you'll be spending the day at the police station. Your details are being delivered to them as we speak. Good day. SMH!
Friend Of My Ex Has Been Using My Netflix Details Without My Knowledge For Years. Calls Me Cheap
"I have it set to log in straightaway" yes. And there is an option to force log out all other accounts. :')
"Cheap," says the person that is unwilling to pay 10 instead of 10 in addition to prob around 240
We were curious to hear why people tend to feel so strongly about protecting their privacy in the digital sphere. "Apart from the obvious concerns about personal and financial safety, which should never be underestimated, there are some psychological predictors on valuing and displaying online privacy behaviors," Professor Reed, from Swansea University, told Bored Panda via email.
According to the host of 'Digital World, Real World,' knowledge about the digital system predicts wanting more privacy.
"People who are anxiously attached share more information because they trust the system more, but then they worry about it," Reed said.
Shared My Netflix Years Ago With My Mom And Sister. Had An Issue Last Night So I Checked The Recent Devices. Found Out There Were Tons Of People With My Password, Plus Someone Upped My Plan
Reset my password and told my sister I wasn’t going to share my password anymore. Chaos.
so they can try and talk you back into it. thats what they think at least.
Load More Replies...I saw this one before. The whole story is not only was her mother and sister using her password, but they shared it with six other people and one had the nerve to change her account to a more expensive level.
My Brother Gave Our Netflix Password To A Friend And They Started Using My Profile. I Reacted Swiftly
Can You Use a Custom Profile Picture on Netflix? The answer to that question is no. You can’t use a custom profile picture on Netflix, as the platform doesn’t allow you to upload custom images from your devices. You’re limited to choosing a profile picture from Netflix’s own repository (which, fortunately, has many photos to choose from).
My Ex That I Haven’t Talked To In 6 Months Had The Audacity To Ask Me To Renew My Netflix Account So She Could Use It
lmfao she could just have waited until the actual owner of the netflix acc realises the netflix expired and renews it
so I've actually got a pretty good set up with my ex, we would split the streamers, and when we ended it, we are still friends, we were like, you can still use this my disney account and i'll use your netflix account, just don't give the passwords out and we are good.
"Those who display the characteristic of openness show more privacy as they ultimately are open to learning about the system and its limitations."
Meanwhile, Bored Panda asked the professor about the essence of having a healthy relationship with all things digital, as our daily lives become more closely interwoven with our online personas.
"Boundaries are the key, as in all things," Reed told us.
"Knowing what you are using it for, knowing its dangers and limitations, and switching it off when you don’t need it, are absolutely key."
First We Broke Up, Then - “Don’t Contact Me Again But Let Me Use Your Netflix”
Gave My Netflix Password To My Two Little Cousins (Squidgame Avatars) And They Changed My Previous Profiles To Their "Mom" And "Dad". My Family Members And I Are Considered As "Guest"
My boyfriends aunt an nephews did this. It was when the algorithm on there was actually good, nothing bit good luck Charlie and related c**p, had to redo my 3 year old profile for everything after kicking them off. Didn't get the big deal. Stayed at their place and liked tons of my weird c**p, they don't know why they keep getting recommendations for gross documentaries and gore
Bloody cheek. But then, all these posts are the same, and gobsmacked at the nerve of these self-entitled freeloaders.
Kids are not the same as adults. They're trying stuff out, seeing what flies and what doesn't. Kids **have** to do this, it's why we have such extended childhoods compared to most other mammals. Yes, the parents need to be involved and sort out what is acceptable and what isn't, but there isn't any need at this point to be fuming at the children. Unlike some of the adults in this list.
Apparently I Am A Jerk For Not Giving My Email Password To Someone I Sold My Old Xbox One To
I wanted to read the continuation of this exchange. lol The tops of those letters piqued my interest 😅 WTF
According to Statista, Netflix had around 247.2 million paid subscribers in the third quarter of 2023. Most people using the streaming service live in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: a whopping 83 million subscribers live there.
Netflix has changed its business model after a less-than-stellar performance in the first half of 2022. In November of 2022, the company introduced an ad-supported tier. Around 1 in 4 new subs use this plan.
My Mom Casually Using Netflix On Two Screens At Once So Nobody Else Can Watch Anything
Bratty Cousin Stole My Netflix Password And When I Changed It He Wants Me To Give It To Him
They got annoyed with people flipping them off for censoring ridiculous things
Load More Replies...Rather than just saying no, I'd send the kid a Dean Ambrose NOPE and screenshot this for future embaressment of said cousin.
We Got An Email From Mojang About Two Days Ago, Changed The Password, And Today My Boyfriend Receives This Email
I don't know what is worse: the leechers with desperate pleas for access, or the owner's idiocy in not being able to set even basic security on their account - and not noticing it's being used. Not just for this entry, either.
Exactly what I was thinking. My daughter shares my Netflix but my profile is locked, pin access only.
Load More Replies...So he was willing to spend a lot of money in the game but on an account that doesn’t belong to him? That’s insane.
Like, just spend the $30 for Java (or $8 for bedrock) if you've already spent so much
Load More Replies...Unless you’re living completely off the grid (good for you!), wherever you turn in modern society, you’re leaving a digital trail of some kind. You go to work and you log into your office computer. You go out for a cup of coffee and if you pay by card, you might have to input your PIN code, and there’s a record of your transaction.
You come back home and log into your social media accounts and your streaming services. And if you enjoy listening to audiobooks and reading high-level journalism, you might need to register for those, too. Passwords, passwords, endless passwords everywhere!
Logged In To Google Slides And Found This
That would be a narrow search. First of all, it’s an elementary school kid. Second of all, it’s a very rude elementary school kid. Finally, it’s a very daft and rude elementary school kid
How Dare They Inconvenience You By Being Too Poor
I was massively hacked -streaming services, Facebook etc. best thing that ever happened. Don't need Facebook any more and got rid of freeloaders.
My ex still uses my Disney+ account and Netflix and it's been 3 years
Expecting Someone To Pay For Your Netflix When You Don’t Even Know Who They Are
At least have the decency to make sure the photo is the right way up.
I actually change my password/force logouts once a month to avoid any possible people who have hacked into it or whatever. :)
The issue is that you want your password to be something that you can easily remember if you ever get logged out of your account. At the same time, if your password is too basic, then you increase the risk of getting hacked. But with so many passwords that you need to keep track of, you end up doing one of three things.
My Girlfriend’s Instagram Account Got Hacked. There Is The Response They Gave Me
This happened to a friend. It was horrible! When he refused, the ramsomer started posting all kinds of crazy offensive cr&p. So much so that he actually had clients (he's a landscape architect) calling him and asking if he was ok... Instagram didn't do $h*t, he had to make a new account and send all of us an email and text messages to explain what happened. Intagram is f*ck=d up for not canceling the account when it was obviously hacked.
Happened to my facebook. I had to make New one and I lost all my pictures
I Was Feeling Nice So I Offered Free Hulu To A Guy Who Couldn't Afford It
Brother Who Refuses To Work Tries To Emotionally Blackmail Me Over Netflix Subscription
Sure they are. "The check is in the mail" routine.
Load More Replies...I feel like there could quite easily be an Option 3 squeezed in there...
You either ignore security concerns, use one or two passwords for everything, and pray for the best. Or you might keep a super secret notebook full of your most important logins (God forbid you lose it or someone gets their mitts on it…).
Or you use a trusted (and definitely paid) service that helps you keep track of all of your passwords, across all of your accounts and devices, while also adding an extra level of security.
Got Off Work This Morning And Checked My Phone To See Someone In China Was Trying To Access My Apple ID
I had this a few years ago. Just changed the password to something more complex.
I just had to change the password for my Instacart account. Someone on the other side of the country was shopping at Target and was filling a cart at the same time that I was grocery shopping. The laugh would have been on them though because there's no money in my account.
Roommate Is Using My Hulu To Watch The Game Making Me Not Able To Watch It, I Never Gave Him The Login
Letting People Use Your Hulu
These days, logging into anything from a new device is… well, it’s a process. Things are definitely on a whole other level compared to a couple of decades ago. Now, you have two-factor authentication, codes sent to you in emails and SMS messages, emails asking you to confirm whether it’s actually you trying to log in to your account from wherever you might be.
We Got Hacked At Work And The Private Work Email Got Leaked, Yes It Says 186497, And It Is Still Going On At Around 2 Emails A Second
Someone Hacked My Taco Bell Account And Ordered $40 Worth Of Food
They used my debit card that was already hooked up to pay and didn’t leave their delivery address in the recent addresses. (The address on the delivery screen is the store it’s coming from) Although I’m pretty sure they forgot to delete their phone number from the profile section so I have that. Is there a way I could give it to the police to try and go after them?
I might be a bit more than mildly infuriated.
This happened to me with my Dutch Bros account, used the money I had loaded, loaded more money, used that, used every single point and free drink I had. Changed my password and Dutch Bros reimbursed everything thankfully. But it sucked
Turn it into your bank as fraud and send them screenshots of anything you have.
I mean it's too late now, but you could watch the live tracking and screenshot it as it's going. That'll give you a much better idea of where is off too! You could ring the store ask to confirm the address, or just tell them it's your card and you did not place the order etc. If they refuse to cancel it ask them to change the delivery address to your address. You'll know all the answers to the questions they ask like the code on the back of the card, previous numbers, even this order number etc. I would've called the police then and there and given them that email with the tracking data so they could track the delivery and find out who hacked your account!
Guy Who Hacked My PS4 Account Admits It And Would Like Some More Free Games
Oh my god this reminds me of the time I was dumb and gave my PSN login to some dude and when I got it back he essentially said I was an idiot (I was) I was 11 year old, he was probably 30 sum,
Though all of those processes might be a tad draining, they serve an important purpose. They ensure that everyone has at least one other layer of security, in order to protect personal data.
Few things are nastier than having someone break into your property and have a snoop around—whether digital or physical. Anyone who’s ever had an account hacked knows that disgusting feeling deep in the pit of their stomach.
Good Day Sir
This is what happens when you tell people they are entitled to anything they want. Guilt over stealing? That's for old people, I stole your stuff and now it's mine and I want you to let me have it all.
And get this: He, the OWNER, changed HIS password, "For some odd reason"... LOL! Turtle-rab...948799.png
My Fiancee Gave Me The Login Info To Our Baby Registry And Then Changed The Password Right After My First Addition
Hold on a second, £10K for a bloody saddle for the dog, which one.. get out. and two... WHAT?!
WTH?! Poor dogs. Who the hell thinks that's ok? The muscles in a dog's back, no matter the size of the dog, are not strong enough or designed to carry a person (broken bones, organ damage to even death).
After A Year Of Separation, She Says She's Going To Use My Netflix
Also your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries.
Now, go away and I shall taunt you the second time-uh.🤪
Load More Replies...If this is an ex, you know her parents. Send them a screen shot asking "Is X okay?"
It’s definitely an ex. “Your díck isn’t that big. Konrad was better in bed,” makes it pretty obvious.
Load More Replies...I think whenever you send a ranting message in which you insult genitalia, you have probably already lost the actual argument...
The improvements in password security also raise another important issue. Namely, hackers have gotten so sophisticated that all of these additional layers of security aren’t just recommended, but they’re absolutely necessary.
However, nobody should be naive enough to think that there will ever come a time when all of your data will be completely safe. The fight between security specialists and hackers is neverending and takes place on a constantly shifting battlefield.
For some more examples of entitled people who 'borrowed' others' passwords and accounts, feel free to check out Bored Panda's previous article.
Won't Pay For Streaming
My Good Friend Who Has Been Posting 400+ Memories To His Instagram Account Since 2012, Has Been Hacked By Russians. Instagram Won't Do Anything To Get It Back For Him
There will come one day, when Gen Z people realise, how precious are those mocked, "old-school" paper-photos. Because seemingly, they are not smart enough to use an external driver for saving their 400+ memories, what can't be hacked. Speaking of the generation of digital era with little to no common sense....
Once you go Russian, You support genocide, yup
Load More Replies...My Sister Asking For My Netflix When She Is 33 And Lives With My Mom And Dad
oh no, what am I going to do if you're raging mad?
Load More Replies...I Accidentally Left My YouTube Account Logged in On My Laptop That I Had To Share With My Sister Last Night And This Is What She Has Done To The Recommended Section In 5 Hours
Hey, at least she got ONE good youtuber. Flamingo is hilarious. But still not ok
My account is mostly; true crime, true crime, true crime, The Wiggles, true crime true crime, The Wiggles... Just to clarify, I'm not watching The Wiggles on my own, my granddaughter and I watch it together.
...no wonder people seem to be getting stupider and stupider.
My Little Brother Used My Account To Subscribe To 50 Or More YouTubers. It's Been Two Hours
Dark mode on the phone. Mine is set up that way and shows up with the reddit icon background black as well
Load More Replies...I've been unsubbing to so many lately. Nothing messes with your feed like subs you didn't mean.
Anyone a fan of Doni Bobes? Like, that dude who trolls people on minecraft and somehow still has friends left over
Oh, yeah! I watch him a lot! How do his friends still hang out with him lol
Load More Replies...Never Speak To Me Again... But Wait, Just Two More Episodes
i hate it when someone says somethings fine when they have no right to do so. Fake example of this happening: i take someone out to the movies, my chair is all dirty with soda spills and popcorn all over it and they say it's fine. Fake example #2: my drink is spilled at a restaurant while i'm dining out with family and someone sitting next to me says its fine to a waiter offering another cup of water. I just really don't like it when their decision that they made for me affects me badly
Can relate to this ... at 51 y/o now I just go NC straightaway cause i'm too old to gaf :-)
Load More Replies...Sure, I'll Just Kindly Ask The Person That Stole My Previous PS4 To Deactivate My Account
My Buddy's Ex-Girlfriend Stole My Netflix Info And Got Angry At Him When I Changed The Password
Someone Hacked My Spotify And Liked 241 Songs. They Also Made Their Own Playlist
Anyone know what The Scout said? This seems like a post that would be hard to get that much backlash over a comment. I’m intrigued lol
This Guy Got Into My Account And I Changed The Password So He Wanted It Back
I don’t know what bothers me more. The theft or “did you found it.”
Why the HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHell did you add all tHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHose unessasary H's.
"Did you remembered it".🤦♂️ "Did you found it the email" 🤦♂️. "fou d it".... Think this person was having a full-on breakdown over loosing something that was never theirs!
My Xbox Account With Over A Few Months Of Play Time And Has Had A Few Hundred Pounds Spent On It Has Been Hacked, Passwords Changed
I've had this account since the beginning of Xbox 360.
But aren't things like this connected to their bank? I assume they have to pay monthly or whatever for the account?!! Honestly, there must be some kind of way to prove to MS/Xbox that it was their account. If not, it doesn't bode well for any subscribers.
Hacker Got My Instagram For A Week And Today I Received This On My New Private Account. The Audacity
If Instagram had a decent Support Team, it could be sorted, but ...
Does any social media have decent support? They're all just interested in your data and ads they can sell.
Load More Replies...My Husband Shared The Hulu Password With A Friend Who Won’t Stop Sending Requests For Progressive Info To My Phone Every 15 Minutes
Girlfriend's Instagram Got Hacked And Instagram's "Help Center" Has Not Helped Us Recover It. Now The Hacker Has Been Making These Posts About Some Crypto Scam
Linking to his own main account and when we report her old account or the hacker's, Instagram says there seems to be nothing wrong.
Instagram banned my account for seemingly no reason, and I can't get it back because of you know who taking over and making customer service nonexistent
They choose not to act on actual hate speech and direct threats I have reported, but I was temporarily banned following several of my posts being removed as "spam" and the worst one was pointing out that not all mortgage lenders apply payments in the same way and some will penalize you for paying early. I don't think humans even work there anymore.
Load More Replies...I Gave My Sister The Password To My Premium Spotify Account
A Random Person Has Been Using My Disney Plus Account, After I Deleted Their Profile They Came To Mine And Started Watching There
This was their profile, I deleted it after making sure it wasn’t one of my brother’s friends or something, for some reason everything inside their profile was in Spanish.
This happened to my daughters profile on Netflix. Her 'continue watching' was filled with episodes and movies in French. Alvin & the Chipmunks seemed to be a favourite.
idk why but alvin and the chipmunks being the favorite just sounds hilarious
Load More Replies...Some Jerk Hacked My Steam Account With 2FA And Gifted Two Of Their Alts Rust And Now I'm 80-Something Bucks Down The Drain
For those that don't have a Steam account: report a hack once and they'll correct it. Twice and they close your account no matter how long you've had it. That's what op means by being 'out' $80.
Netflix 16+ Membership. Wife On One TV, Kid On The Other
At least you aren’t hacked just go watch with your wife you’re married
Maybe they don't want to watch the same thing.
Load More Replies...Utterly ridiculous that they still haven't fixed the app.
Load More Replies...People... don't share your password with anyone, especially your lovers!
Really bored panda? Sort yourselves out. It's getting ridiculous now, I can't access so many articles on the app. It's annoying
2 days after our friend died like, 8 years ago his Facebook profile got hacked and we were getting weird "I saw this picture of you" messages as we were having his wake and planning memorial fundraisers.
My best friend and I share multiple accounts and split the cost. If one of us can't pay, the other picks it up. My Netflix got hacked one time and some guy made a profile on it, so I deleted the profile and changed my password. Not long after, they got back in and changed the recovery email. I was pissed, but thankfully Netflix customer service helped me recover it quickly. Created a new email for streaming services and haven't had any more issues. My eBay account got taken over while I was in the hospital and they didn't do s**t. Whoever did it ordered a $400 computer and thankfully I was alerted by PayPal and was able to cancel it and disconnect PayPal from the ebay account by calling PayPal cs. They also signed up every spam email site in existence with my email, so that's been fun.
My ex sent horrible and abusive emails, and literally asked in a follow up email if he could have my password for the cable company so he could watch baseball that day. Uhhhhhh. No? I should note that the wifi password was changed, and I actually had to get a whole new internet service due to him getting into my account and harassing me.
Utterly ridiculous that they still haven't fixed the app.
Load More Replies...People... don't share your password with anyone, especially your lovers!
Really bored panda? Sort yourselves out. It's getting ridiculous now, I can't access so many articles on the app. It's annoying
2 days after our friend died like, 8 years ago his Facebook profile got hacked and we were getting weird "I saw this picture of you" messages as we were having his wake and planning memorial fundraisers.
My best friend and I share multiple accounts and split the cost. If one of us can't pay, the other picks it up. My Netflix got hacked one time and some guy made a profile on it, so I deleted the profile and changed my password. Not long after, they got back in and changed the recovery email. I was pissed, but thankfully Netflix customer service helped me recover it quickly. Created a new email for streaming services and haven't had any more issues. My eBay account got taken over while I was in the hospital and they didn't do s**t. Whoever did it ordered a $400 computer and thankfully I was alerted by PayPal and was able to cancel it and disconnect PayPal from the ebay account by calling PayPal cs. They also signed up every spam email site in existence with my email, so that's been fun.
My ex sent horrible and abusive emails, and literally asked in a follow up email if he could have my password for the cable company so he could watch baseball that day. Uhhhhhh. No? I should note that the wifi password was changed, and I actually had to get a whole new internet service due to him getting into my account and harassing me.
