The Tails distribution on USB is considered the same idea as creating a hardware wallet but at a lower cost. Frankly, I think using a hardware wallet will be faster and more efficient in terms of usage. But the decision is up to you in the end. The Electrum wallet is among the best and most famous open-source Bitcoin wallets. Still, the risk of draining or theft of funds may occur in any wallet, whether cold or hot. This may be due to your negligence in securing the backup phrase for your wallet, or the PIN code, or any of the other additional security methods, or not activating two-factor authentication, and your negligence in protecting and fortifying your device from trojans and viruses or connecting your hardware wallet through WalletConnect to any unknown or untrusted DApp are also potential risks.

Therefore, I agree that before using any wallet, you need to know and understand security and protection measures first so that you can hodl your assets in the wallet safely away from scammers. Also, you've gained experience from the previous painful lesson, and I hope that you'll be able to protect your assets, wallets, and devices safely in the future.