Netflix Scam Fleecing People Out Of $300 And Personal Information

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News of new scams on the Internet arrive daily in this interconnected world – just look at your spam folder. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) users have recently been targeted by scammers by sending them an email that claims that there has been illegal activity on their Netflix accounts.

We are not suggesting you try this at home, but Jérôme Segura, security researcher at Malwarebytes called up the scammers to find out what is going on. Segura posted a seven-minute video to show how the scammers are looking to take your money.

The telephone call

Segura first created a bogus account on the “Netflix” page sent by email. He then called “customer service” where it was explained to him that hackers were “in his computer.” He was then directed to make a few clicks on the page he just logged into and effectively gave the person on the line access to his computer. After, “transferring” him he was shown a number of fake attacks on his computer and also promised a $50 discount from Netflix.

After a few more minutes, the scammer has the gall to ask Segura for his credit card so he could be billed for $389 that would be refunded to him. At this point the technician asked Segura to scan his credit card so that he could confirm that Segura was the owner of the card. Segura informed him that he didn’t have a scanner so the technician asked that he either take pictures of it using a phone or simply hold it up in front of the webcam.

Protect yourself

Now, clearly Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) wouldn’t have the ability or the desire to “fix” your computer. The fact that they would charge you to fix the problem is nothing less than absurd. However, long before the birth of the Internet, P.T. Barnum famously remarked that “There is a sucker born every minute.” He was right. While a one second year old child doesn’t have credit cards they do grow older and get credit cards. So, these scammers are preying on suckers born years ago. With as many million subscribers as Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has a scammer need only find a couple of these suckers each day to make a lot of money and steal your personal information.

While this may read to you as ridiculously obvious the fact that it’s being written about means people are being taken in each day. I would never suggest you would fall for this, but others have.

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