A new phishing scam that preys on Netflix users has been exposed. It works by tricking subscribers into calling a fake “tech support” number.
The scam was discovered by Jérôme Segura of MalwareBytes.org. He said that it all starts with the typical phishing email. If you click the link to Netflix through this message, you’ll get to a page that looks just like the typical Netflix login page. Then, Segura put in random, gobbledygook login information. A page popped up saying that the account was suspended and the only way to fix it was to call the “tech support” number.
The person on the other line directed Segura to download something called “NetFlix Support Software. This actually gave the person access to Segura’s computer remotely. While the scammer told Segura a bunch of useless information (like that he needed to speak to a Microsoft technician - who the scammer could connect him to - and that he was giving him a $50 Netflix gift card), the scammer began scanning his computer for any information he could steal.
According to The Huffington Post, these scammers also asked for a photo ID and credit card information.
There’s several red flags throughout the process that make it clear that it was a scam. The first step is noticing that the URL in the original message is not actually just Netflix.com. Also, Netflix isn’t a downloaded program. The service streams content over the internet.
Here’s Segura’s video explaining the scam:
image courtesy of YouTube
