Cybercriminals always take advantage of the most popular companies to try to scam users by Phishing. Netflix is one of the streaming giants, so cybercriminals will try to deceive their customers, with the aim of stealing Netflix accounts or directly users’ credit or debit cards to steal money. On this occasion, we bring you a scam that we have received directly in our email, bypassing any Outlook antispam protection measure, so we must take extreme precautions if we receive emails of dubious origin.
Currently, the antispam systems of mail services as popular as Google or Microsoft are quite effective, blocking thousands of emails directly without reaching our inbox, not even the spam folder, in order to protect ourselves. However, cybercriminals are doing better and better, and they are able to bypass these protections and reach the spam tray, and even the inbox, which is much more dangerous for users.
The false account suspension on Netflix
Cybercriminals know that Netflix can suspend the account if the credit or debit card is expired or a payment problem has occurred, for this reason, they have designed an email indicating that our Netflix subscription has been suspended, to incite the user to click on the image or link, and take us to a website specifically designed to steal all our data. The email we have received is as follows:
As you can see in the previous image, it tells us that «We were unable to renew your Netflix subscription, we will suspend your membership if we do not hear back from you«. This message clearly wants to encourage users to click on the image or link incorporated, to take us to the website designed to rob us.
Just below it also tries to deceive us and encourage the click with another deception that says: «However, as part of our loyalty program, you can now extend 90 days for free. Popular movies and hit TV shows – all available with your Netflix subscription«. And just below we have two buttons, «renew membership» and also a button indicating «90 days free«.
The first thing we should note is that Netflix is not going to give us 3 months for renewing the subscription, this is the first thing you should keep in mind, and even more so now that the company has started to block accounts shared with family and friends . Therefore, you should not click on any of the two buttons that we have in the image.
Just below comes the most worrying thing, and it is that it tells us «After registering, you must enter your credit card details to validate your account. We will not withdraw any amount.» It is already warning us that we must enter the card details to validate the account, but that they are not going to make any charge. This is completely false, and all they want is to take your card details and make as many charges as possible to steal your money.
What should I do in these cases?
The first thing you should do if you receive this type of email is watch senderand see also how the email is written or designed. You should always be suspicious, if you receive this, our recommendation is that you access the Netflix account from the browser, not from a link in this email, and check if there is any notice in the account settings section.
Once you have verified that it is false, just delete the email and don’t click any links. If you have already clicked on a link, but you have not downloaded anything or entered any data such as your card, simply close the corresponding tab and do not enter again.
If you have inserted your card, our recommendation is that the block the card as soon as possible through your banking application, because they could make charges at any time. You must block it as soon as possible and cancel it if it is a physical or virtual card. In the case of having a virtual card, you could cancel it directly and create a new one with a different number, in this way, they will not be able to charge the previous card and your money will be safe.
