The popularity of Netflix makes it a preferred subject for phishing emails which appear to come from Netflix. In these phishing emails you are told you need to update your credit card information or asked for other personal information.  I have written about a number of these phishing emails in past Scams of the day. In the version of the scam that is presently circulating, you are told that your account is on hold because Netflix is “having some trouble with your current billing information.” You are then instructed to click on a link in order to update your account and credit card or debit card payment information. This is a scam. If you click on the link you may unwittingly download malware such as ransomware or keystroke logging malware that can result in your becoming a victim of identity theft. Alternatively, if you provide the requested credit card information, you have just turned your credit card over to an identity thief who will quickly run up charges on the card. Some indications that this particular email is a scam include odd punctuation and the salutation which is written as “Hi Dear.”

Here is a link to the Facebook page of the Solon Police Department in Ohio. The posting includes a copy of the phishing email. The Solon Police Department was an early reporter of this scam.

TIPS

As I always say, “trust me, you can’t trust anyone.”  You can never be truly sure when you receive an email seeking personal information such as your credit card number whether or not the email is a scam.  The risk of clicking on a link or providing the requested information is just too high. Instead, if you think that the email might be legitimate, you should contact the company at a telephone number that you know is legitimate and find out whether or not the email was a scam.

As for Netflix in particular, it will never ask in an email for any of your personal information so anytime you get an email purportedly from Netflix asking for your credit card number, Social Security number or any other personal information, it is a scam.  Here is a link to Netflix’s security page for information about staying secure in regard to your Netflix account. https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13243

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