What to do if you get this email 'from Netflix'
Netflix users are being warned of a sophisticated scam fooling people into thinking their account has been suspended.
People are warned not to fall for the dodgy phishing attack that appears to be an email from the streaming service.
“We’ve temporarily suspeneded (sic) your account due to some issues in the automatic verification process,” the email says.
“For this reason we suspended your account, until you verify all required informations and update your payment method. We will provide with all the steps you need to unlock your account.”
Netflix users are then urged to click on a link that takes them to a login page that looks almost identical to the real thing.
People are asked to then login to their account and update billing information and payment method.
The email scam threatens to delete the account permanently if accounts aren’t verified.
Cybersecurity business Mailguard detected the scam in Australia on Monday evening and said in a statement people could never be too careful when clicking links and entering information online.
“Sent via a malicious sender, the emails use a display name of “NETFLIX” with a lower case ‘L’ character to replace the ‘i’,” Mailguard said.
“Cybercriminals have taken great pains to incorporate the exact colour scheme, logo, fonts and popular images commonly found in Netflix pages in a bid to convince the user that the email is actually originating from the entertainment company.
“However, while this email is well-designed and uses sophisticated HTML design, it contains several red flags for anyone who is vigilant to spot fake email scams.”
How do you know it’s a scam?
Mailguard says the spelling and grammatical errors in the email were a giveaway that it was a scam.
It is advised people don’t click on links in emails if it is not addressed to them personally.
Emails that redirect you to a landing page that does not have a legitimate URL are also cause for concern.
“Cybercriminals know people can be tricked; that’s why they send out millions of scam messages and put so much effort into making them look convincing,” Mailguard said.
