which is why I am I want to know how that was possible and if this could be a real scenario. i had the wallet since 2017.
I guess anything is possible, especially on Windows systems that are susceptible to malware attacks. Personally, Ive had electrum as a hot wallet on my PC for years without any problems. Have you been able to scan the system with a good antivirus and antimalware program to see if it detects anything?