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Karren Bangura
Netflix spearheaded the streaming movement and changed at-home entertainment as we know it. For this reason, it remains one of the giants of the industry today. Scammers often impersonate well-known, trustworthy companies, making a household name like Netflix a prime target. With scam texts holding their spot atop the list of phone-scam threats, Netflix text scams were all but inevitable.
Phone scammers steal billions of dollars from Americans every year, leaving them with drained bank accounts and lingering psychological effects. However, there are ways to protect oneself and fight back. Keep reading to learn about Netflix text scams and how to avoid falling for fake messages.
Netflix text scams are a specific type of smishing attack (which is a type of phishing scam) whereby fraudsters try to get valuable personal information from their targets by disguising themselves as Netflix. They hunt for sensitive data like credit card numbers, email addresses, and login credentials they might use to hack into other accounts. Some scammers go directly for your money, while others sell your stolen data on the dark web.
One type of Netflix text scam claims your account has been put on hold, possibly due to declined payments or suspicious account activity. The text contains a link and instructs you to follow it to input your credentials, update your information, and regain access to the streaming service. Unfortunately, the link actually sends you to a fake website where scammers can steal your information. Alternatively, it may download malware onto your device.
Scammers like to center scams around problems with payment or billing information because it allows them to target your most sensitive data right away. Some Netflix text scams claim you must update your payment details because your card expired or was declined. As usual, they send a link that allegedly allows you to update your financial information and reactivate your account, but your financial details go right to the scammer.
Many different types of scams involve the same kinds of tactics, which means they feature some of the same red flags. Some warning signs are easy to spot, while others are a bit more subtle. The quicker you recognize the signs, the quicker you can shut down the scammer.
Although Netflix may not be able to reimburse you after a scam text, telling them about your experience may allow them to protect others from going through it themselves. You can forward Netflix scam text messages to phis...@netflix.com.
You can also report scam texts to the authorities to help them combat scammers and build their global databases. Getting your money back after being scammed can be difficult, but quickly alerting the authorities and giving them all of the information you can may improve your chances of catching the criminal.
Netflix text scams are just one iteration of the multi-billion-dollar text scam problem, but there are ways to protect yourself and take back your privacy. With the right spam-blocking app, you can fend off phone scams of any kind and block robocalls and scam texts before they can make it to your phone. That spam-blocking app is called Robokiller.
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