As of: February 28, 2024, 4:30 p.m
By: Vivian Werg
Comments
Press
Split
Netflix customers are once again being targeted by fraudsters.
A new phishing scam aims to access sensitive customer data.
How to protect yourself.
Berlin – Digitization opens up many new opportunities, but at the same time also entails numerous risks.
Fraudsters are now also using AI tools to deceive their unsuspecting victims.
Last year, criminals took advantage of artificial intelligence, particularly in a holiday trap.
The phishing scam is also often used by cyber criminals.
A careless click and data theft as well as financial damage can result.
The consumer advice center is currently warning of a particularly bold and “dangerous fraud attempt for your own finances”.
Netflix customers have again been targeted by fraudsters.
Most recently, they tried to access sensitive data with a subscription trap.
With this particularly bold phishing email, fraudsters are particularly targeting Netflix customers © Screenshot/Consumer Center
Scammers pretend to be Netflix: You can recognize a phishing email by these characteristics
Phishing traps are usually disguised as emails or SMS from well-known companies.
Bank customers of ING and Sparkasse are also currently affected by a nasty scam email.
The Federal Criminal Police Office advises consumers never to respond to emails from unknown senders.
“Do not open files of unknown origin or click on links in emails from unknown senders,” it says on its website.
Consumers should also be vigilant when handling personal information.
According to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), if an email contains at least one of the following characteristics, it is most likely a phishing email:
The text of the email indicates an urgent need for action.
Threats such as account closure are used.
Request to enter confidential data
The email contains links or forms
The message appears to be from a well-known person or organization, but the sender's message seems unusual.
Fake Netflix email – this is how the scammers do it
According to the consumer advice center, fraudsters are currently trying to access sensitive data from their victims using fake Netflix emails.
They proceed as follows:
My news
Income changes in March: Less money for pensioners, more in public services
2 hours ago
Aldi Süd is making something new: This technology is available in all branches in Germany
190 euro package ends up in the trash - recipient finds it just in time
More money for public sector employees: This is how much salary there will be from March reading
“It's hard to beat the cheekiness”: After seeing this, the customer asks Edeka to give her a written statement
Telekom change affects existing customers: the streaming change should start in February
As is usual for phishing traps, the phishing email begins with an indirect salutation.
It then claims that you need to confirm your billing information.
If you do not do this within the specified period, your account will be closed and an additional fee of 39.99 euros will be charged.
Then comes the ingenious part: If you enter your payment details, you may have to carry out an additional confirmation with the bank, the fraudulent email continues.
This ensures that any transfer to the criminals, which is made possible by disclosing the data, is also authorized by the bank.
According to consumer advocates, those affected should not allow themselves to be intimidated by the empty threats and alleged closure fees.
It is recommended that you move the email to the spam folder or contact the streaming service directly to have the authenticity of the email verified.
New scam: This is how you can recognize the fake Netflix email
The streaming service also informs customers about the fraudulent emails and SMS on its website and gives helpful tips on how to recognize the Netflix scam:
Alleged Emails or SMS from Netflix:
The company never requests personal information such as credit or debit card numbers, bank account details, or Netflix passwords via SMS or email.
Request Payments:
Payments will never be requested through any third party provider or website.
SMS or email with an unknown link:
If Netflix customers receive a message with a link that leads to a URL they do not recognize, they are strongly advised not to click.
If customers still access the link, no information should be entered.
The streaming service advises customers who clicked on the link and even entered data to immediately inform the financial institution and change the Netflix password.
Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their fraud attempts
Telephone fraud also remains a lucrative business for many criminals.
In particular, sophisticated fraud via WhatsApp has often been used.
A well-known example is the grandchild trick.
“As sad as it is, unfortunately you always have to be fundamentally suspicious,” advises Criminal Director Harald Schmidt, managing director and criminal director of the state and federal police crime prevention department.
With the new “social engineering” scam, fraudsters gain the trust of their victims.
(vw)