Phishing Scam Aims at Netflix Subscribers

Jim Hood Attorney General of Mississippi (USA), on February 16, 2011, cautioned residents about a fresh malicious e-mail campaign that was attacking subscribers of Netflix a well-known rental service for online video. Reportedly, during the scam, the perpetrators dispatch mass spam mails that tell recipients that their credit cards utilized in connection with subscription for Netflix has expired. Overall, the e-mails seem as though they've originated from Netflix. 16abcWAPT.com reported this on February 16, 2011.

Explained Hood, the e-mail, while informing recipients about the expiration of the details of their payment cards, directs them for making their accounts up to date via clicking through a given web-link. 16abcWAPT.com published this. Hood said in addition that the e-mails were actually from scammers who mimicked a well-known company for consumers so they could defraud citizens off personal and financial data.

Incidentally, often it occurs that users instead of perusing the e-mails in detail merely read the messages' captions. And in case, the e-mails relate to an advertisement, in such a situation recipients reject them, while if they display anything that's unusual then rather than going through the entire message, they follow the web-links given.

Here, spammers and hackers exploit this behavior of users. People who do not own an account with Netflix ignore the messages; however, people who do have a subscription with the service might consider them genuine. The e-mails even provide a web-link that takes users onto a different site, which's malware-ridden. And while these e-mails seem as though Netflix has sent them, they in reality have originated from a botnet.

Thus, AG Jim Hood advises end-users to maintain distance from these e-mails and not reply to them. Consumers should also be careful while viewing e-mails alternatively taking down documents from unknown senders. Says Hood, users must habituate with never answering electronic messages alternatively pop-ups, which seek their private or financial details. ConsumerAffairs.com reported this on February 16, 2011.

Conclusively, no matter how authentic a website or e-mail appears, users must always remain vigilant of any that asks to follow a web-link and therein feed password, credit card details or anything similar.

Related article: Phishing With A Redirector Code

» SPAMfighter News - 2/24/2011