Following the news that a phishing campaign has been targeting Netflix users across Australia, with users reporting having been sent an email from an address posing as the legitimate support team for the streaming service asking them to enter their account information and payment details, security experts commented below.
Dean Ferrando, System Engineer Manager (EMEA) at Tripwire:
“This is just the latest of a series of phishing campaigns that posed as Netflix, which because of its popularity allows criminals to cast a wide net of potential victims. This kind of attacks exploit customer’s trust in brands they can recognise, and are becoming increasingly sophisticated, adding backsplashes and logos to the fake emails to trick victims into clicking on the malicious links.
The best way to avoid falling victim of these scams is to always be on the look for suspicious details that may reveal the email as fictitious, which can be spelling mistakes, poor grammar or a link that directs to a suspicious URL. Reputable brands also often have a support page that helps customers identify and report fake email campaigns and would never ask for personal information or payment details without a reasonable cause.”
“In this case, scammers are using the very familiar and trusted Netflix brand to dupe loyal customers into revealing personal and financial information. Many users will have an established relationship with Netflix and communicate with the brand via email or other messaging platforms. This kind of interaction can engender trust and complacency on the part of the customer. It is the relationship between user and brand, which phishers are attempting to hijack in order to pharm valuable financial credentials.
Strong-form impersonation methods like this, where the attacker is posing as the legitimate Netflix support team with branding and an email format that closely mimics a typical Netflixcommunication, can be difficult for a typical user to identify. However, to minimise the risk of falling victim to scams like this, users must be vigilant. They should be suspicious of any email that requests personal and/ or financial information. It is also important that they alert the necessary authorities if they spot a phishing email in their inbox.”
Corin Imai, Senior Security Advisor at DomainTools:
“Netflix customers seem to be incredibly popular targets for threat actors engaged in phishing campaigns, for good reason; Netflix is a globally renowned business, with an easily identifiable name and logo which a significant amount of consumers will have a relationship with, making them more likely to engage with emails pertaining to be from the brand. Netflix phishing scams in the past have been notoriously sophisticated, such as the 2017 campaign which leveraged Netflix content as backing images to the fraudulent emails and web pages, lulling the victim into a false sense of security. Australian Netflix users should treat any email communication from Netflix suspiciously in order to keep their PII safe, particularly one regarding account suspension.”
ISBuzz Team embodies the collaborative efforts of the dedicated staff at Information Security Buzz, converging a wide range of skills and viewpoints to present a unified, engaging voice in the information security realm. This entity isn't tied to a single individual; instead, it's a dynamic embodiment of a team diligently working behind the scenes to keep you updated and secure. When you read a post from ISBuzz Team, you're receiving the most relevant and actionable insights, curated and crafted by professionals tuned in to the pulse of the cybersecurity world. ISBuzz Team - your reliable compass in the fast-evolving landscape of information security
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.