It seems as though nothing is secure anymore, not even people's Netflix's accounts. That's what hackers would have you believe in the latest scam to be sent out en masse. This one appears pretty convincing, making it harder for unaware people to be able to tell when they're being tricked.
The scam comes in an email, although the user's address, [email protected], should set off alarm bells for anyone. It's unlikely that you'd get an email from Netflix without the company's name after the @ symbol. The email message has a bright logo on top to con you into thinking it's legitimate from the get-go.
Credit: Creative Commons
The email reads: "Dear User, We're having some trouble with your current billing information. We'll try again. But in the meantime you may want to update your payment details. During the next login process, you will be required to provide some informations like (billing info, phone number, payment info)."
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If you have a very keen eye for spelling and grammar, you'll notice two things in the email that appear slightly off, but the main one is that 'informations' isn't a word. Look, no one is perfect but it's hard to imagine a huge global company would make a mistake like that.
A malware protection website, Malwarebytes Labs says there are a few more aspects to the email that should raise suspicion. It says: "So the email asks us to fill out our payment details on a site. This should always be a red flag for everyone. A security-aware company does not provide you with a clickable button to their site.
Credit: Netflix
"They will tell you to log into their site and provide you with instructions on how to proceed. They will not provide a direct link to a page with a form to fill out asking for billing information and what not."
A person has posted a picture to Twitter that appears to show an additional Netflix scam being sent to people's phones via a text message. It says: "Your Netflix membership is due to expire today. To prevent termination confirm your details at," followed by a link to a website.
It's unclear whether the two scams are linked and Netflix hasn't released a statement on its website or social media pages. If you're concerned about the safety of your account, contact Netflix to double check that they definitely haven't sent out a membership or payment request.
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Sources: Malwarebyte Labs, Twitter