Have you ever experienced an online 'near-death experience'!?

.. I have!
Earlier today, when checking for new emails, this email appeared in my inbox:

"Hi Helle! You have successfully changed your password. Thanks! /The LinkedIn Team."

I instantly panicked: Change of password!? Well, I certainly didn't change it, but then who did!? The email didn't give me much to investigate from, since it only informed me that my password had been changed on LinkedIn. Only problem was: I hadn't changed my password.

I tried to logon to LinkedIn several times with my old password, but the cautionary red letters of "incorrect password" appeared on the screen over and over again. Adrenaline started pumping, hands started shaking, eyes started flickering. What had happened!? Why!? Had my account been hacked? By someone? By a computer? Was everything on my account deleted? Gone for good? While asking myself all of the above questions, I managed to check up on my profile by googling my name (it was still there; the profile - intact) and also: I requested LinkedIn for a new password. It went through - and I was relieved that I didn't have to type in the "changed" new password that I had nothing to do with. Shortly after requesting the new password, an email came in - "You have successfully changed your password. Thanks!". And this time, the email was a sight for sore eyes.

I logged onto LinkedIn with my new (self-elected) password and it was there; my profile. *SIGH*. Nothing has changed. It was all there. And it was safe.

As it turns out, the change of password wasn't part of a hacker's plan. An old colleague of mine had accidentally reset my password, since my email is linked to the old company's site on LinkedIn. Why this is even possible has to do with LinkedIn and its (lack of) security - and that is an entirely different discussion.

All of the above happened within two minutes. Yet, it felt as if it lasted for at least an hour. I actually got scared. It felt as if someone(!) had taken something from me. Something that belonged to me, something that was mine. My property, my 'thing', (part of) me/my identity(?)

I'm surprised my emotions got the best of me. I didn't try and rationalize on what had happened. Instead I instantly thought about worst-case scenarios and 'WHO did this to me?!'