Social engineering scams are the order of the day and are spreading faster than can be reported and alerted. On this occasion, a new campaign has been detected in which the Netflix image is impersonated and users are urged to renew their subscription. The result? A phishing scam that keeps your card details and can make you lose a lot of money.
The National Institute of Cybersecurity (INCIBE) has identified a phishing campaign that aims to obtain information from your credit card and your personal data. In this case, they send you a malicious email claiming that your Netflix subscription has expired and you can extend it for free for 90 days. However, when trying to renew it, they ask you to provide personal and bank details in a form.
It’s not Netflix, it’s phishing
This scam is especially dangerous because Netflix’s user base is still quite large despite this year’s controversies regarding account sharing. Also, since there is no annual plan, the fact of monthly renewal can make it easier for phishing emails to slip through.
In the emails that are sent, they have unreliable subjects such as «_Extend-your..CuentaGratis. «, «Confirmation» or «Enjoy a free 90-day Netflix extension», it is the body of the message that can lead us to error. The email message informs the user about an expired subscription, and as a means of loyalty, they offer to extend the subscription for 90 days for free, only linking a credit card to make it effective, ensuring that no charge will be applied to it. The message is accompanied by a link through which the victim’s data will be filled in.
The text of the email could already serve as some clues to identify that it is a fraudulent email. It contains mistakes and spelling and the sender’s domain doesn’t even bother to look like any official address of the streaming platform and it doesn’t belong to Spain either. However, users may get carried away by the excitement of such a promotion of having 3 free months of Netflix and end up pressing the button and sharing their payment details, something that will probably end up with less money in your account and no more days of Netflix precisely.
What to do if you have fallen for the scam
If you have received the mentioned email, but have not provided any information, please mark it as spam and delete it from your inbox. On the contrary, if you have entered your credit card information or your personal information in the link form, contact your bank and inform them of the situation to take the necessary measures, such as canceling the card introduced.
You can avoid being a victim of fraud of this type by following these recommendations:
- Do not open messages from strangers or that you have not requested, delete them directly or block them if your device allows it and do not reply to these SMS in any case.
- Be careful when clicking on links, even if they are from known senders.
- Check the URL of the web page. If it does not contain a certificate or does not correspond to the official site you intend to access, do not provide any type of personal information: username, password, bank details, etc.
- In case of doubt, consult directly with the entity involved, in this case Netflix, through its Help Centeror with trusted third parties, such as the State Security Forces and Corps (FCSE) and the Internet User Security Office (OSI) of INCIBE.
