Exes can be a nightmare. Whether they’re cyberstalking you on your socials, always trying to win you back, or attempting to sabotage your new romance, we can all pretty much agree life would be better off without them.
One woman’s ex-fiancé thought it would be a good idea to hack her email so he could wreck her budding love life. Fortunately, his plan backfired spectacularly when the woman’s boyfriend got the law involved.
More info: Reddit
RELATED:Exes can make your life hell, as this woman and her new boyfriend came to realize in a most disturbing way
After he hacked her email, her ex-fiancé tried to frame her new partner for infidelity
At first, the woman was furious with her new boyfriend and demanded answers from him
It didn’t take long for the couple to work out that the woman’s ex-fiancé was behind it all
The woman’s boyfriend got the chief of police to threaten the ex-fiancé with charges, forcing him to check into a psych ward in an effort to prove temporary insanity
Twenty years ago, OP tried online dating through eHarmony and matched with a woman who lived about 100 miles away. They hit it off and planned to meet, but just before their big date, she called him in tears, accusing him of cheating. Confused, OP had no idea what she meant.
She claimed another woman had just phoned her, screaming and calling her a “marriage wrecker.” The mystery caller insisted she was OP’s wife and had seen the emails between the two of them. The new date felt heartbroken and betrayed, but there was one major problem… OP wasn’t married. Not even close.
After some furious digging and a whole lot of awkward conversation, the truth came out. The woman behind the call was put up to it by OP’s girlfriend’s ex-fiancé, who had secretly kept access to her old email account. He had read their messages, enlisted a woman to impersonate a wife, and done his best to upend the new relationship.
Luckily, OP had some surprising connections. He worked at a nonprofit where the local police chief sat on the board. That same chief picked up the phone, put it on speaker, and gave the ex-fiancé a very convincing warning: computer hacking is a federal crime, and prison time was on the table.
The twist? No actual charges were planned, but the ex freaked out and immediately checked himself into a psychiatric facility for 72 hours, apparently trying for an “insanity” defense – against a crime no one was even prosecuting.
Fortunately, OP and his new girlfriend got to the bottom of things without too much fuss, but the ex-fiancé could have caused a lot more damage, considering he had unrestricted access to her email. So, what can you do to protect your digital privacy after a breakup? We went looking for answers.
In her article for The Cyber Helpline, Nikki Webb writes that, in the turmoil of a breakup, the emotional fallout can lead to unpredictable behavior. The person who once knew everything about you now holds the power to exploit it. The risk is not just emotional; it’s also digital, meaning that there’s a significant threat to privacy, security, and reputation.
In his article for LifeHacker, Pranay Parab suggests several steps you can take to protect your digital safety after love has set sail. These include securing your most important accounts like your bank account, other finance accounts, investment accounts, and passcodes to your phone, laptop, tablet, and similar devices.
Parab goes on to recommend using a password manager, setting up two-factor authentication, hiding your location, locking down your email, and protecting your social media, streaming, gaming, and fitness apps if you have them. Finally, update your password for delivery apps and shared e-commerce sites so your address stays hidden.
Considering how things turned out in the end, we’d say OP’s revenge fit the crime, even if things didn’t ultimately work out with his new date. The ex-fiancé will definitely think twice about pulling similar shady moves in the future.
What do you think of OP’s clapback? Do you reckon the ex-fiancé got what was coming to him? Let us know your opinion in the comments!
In the comments, some readers applauded the chief of police for getting involved, while others shared their own hacking horror stories
