Netflix: warn of a new type of SMS scam to “pay the subscription” and steal bank details

The Spanish Internet Security Office (OSI) has warned of a new ‘smishing’ campaign in which cybercriminals make false payment gateways available to victims. Netflix to steal your information.

‘Smishing’ is a technique that comes from phishing and It consists of sending text messages or SMS to the victims pretending to be a legitimate entity. (such as a social network, a bank or a public institution), to steal information or make financial charges.

The OSI has reported that a new fraudulent SMS campaign has been detected in which the attackers impersonate Netflix claiming that they must enter their credentials due to alleged problems in the payment of the subscription.

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This body has put several examples of fraudulent messages, in which a time limit is established to proceed with the transaction, either with a specific upcoming date or in the following 24 hours.

To do this, fraudsters make available to victims a link to access the platform, which turns out to direct them to a false web page but with a design very similar to that of the streaming content platform. Once inside this bogus website, victims enter their account username and password to log in and, When signing in, a message is displayed stating that the account has been temporarily suspended.

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“Your last debit failed, please update your payment methods to benefit from our services”, they notify from the alleged Netflix website. Then, the ‘Next’ button appears which, once pressed, displays a form to fill in with billing information.

Another form is included in the following steps for iEnter the bank card number, expiration date and security code, a process that concludes with a presumed SMS authentication system. Once you have entered the phone number to which you want the message to be sent, the link redirects to the real website of the streaming movies and series platform.

Cybercriminals even redirect their victims to the official Netflix website after stealing their bank details. (Pixabay/)

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From the OSI they have recalled that it is vitally important to take into account certain details of the SMS received to determine that it is a scam. First of all, you have remembered that getting a link that starts with ‘https’ does not guarantee that the connection is secure.

Furthermore, he recalled that these cybercriminals are carrying out attacks using URLs containing words like ‘netfspain’ or ‘neftxes’. should also be suspected of messages that use phrases similar to ‘confirm data’, ‘payment refused’ or ‘update your information’.

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On the other hand, he warned that these SMS are usually preceded by the callsign ‘NETFLIX:’ to give more credibility and that generate in users the urgency to carry out an action in a period of 24 hours.

Finally, users who believe they have been victims of this fraud have been recommended to contact the service provider itself, as well as the bank to block the bank card associated with the Netflix account and change the password to access their profile.

Source: Elcomercio