Love binge watching? Beware of these Netflix scams and phishing attacks

• Cybercriminals are always on the prowl to scam users of popular services like Netflix.
• There are many ways to scam users like fake sign-up pages, scam emails and more.
• Here’s a look at the common Netflix scams that every user should be aware of.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services for movies and TV shows. This also makes the platform susceptible to phishing and scamming especially since there’s paid subscription involved. Scammers often tend to lure customers with ways to watch Netflix for free, or try to get access to their bank account.

There are many ways that your Netflix account can fall into the hands of the wrong people. But the most popular ones as shared by Kaspersky, include fake sign-up pages, refreshing your payment details, low subscription plans and more. These scams are not restricted to only Netflix, and it can happen with any other similar service.

If you’re someone who regularly uses Netflix, here’s what you need to know.

Fake sign-ups

Subscribing to Netflix requires information such as your email address, and banking information for the payment. This is the easiest way to get hold of someone’s details since you basically share all the important information required while signing up for Netflix or any other service. Cybercriminals create these fake sign-up pages which look quite like the original site. There are a few tells though like maybe a typo in the text on these fake websites.

Updating payment details

Another popular way that scammers try to get Netflix customers is by sending emails asking subscribers to update their payment details. The email has Netflix as the sender and the subscribers are asked to update or confirm their payment details. And if they don’t then their Netflix account will be closed. The page for the Netflix account payment details also look very convincing making people believe that it is genuine.

Fake subscription plans

Cybercriminals also use popular movies or TV shows to attract people who don’t have subscriptions to streaming services. This is done by creating a fake website with teasers of the movie or show which are basically the trailers that are available in the public domain. Cybercriminals then lure gullible fans into subscribing to lower subscription plans to watch the latest movies and TV shows. This way they get access to the payment details entered on the fake websites.

What to look out for

These scams sound scary and you may actually fall for them even if you think you won’t. But there are ways to ensure that you don’t fall for such tricks. You should never click on links sent in emails from Netflix especially if it has to do with your payment details. You can find out about your account details by going to the official website. Don’t fall for promotions or offers that claim to stream the latest movie or TV show for free or cheaper. Also, use different passwords for your accounts, especially those that have paid subscriptions.

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