Netflix ‘Your Account is on Hold’ Phishing Scam

According to this email, your Netflix account has been put on hold because the company is having trouble with your current billing information.

The email promises to try to bill you again but suggests that you click a link to update your payment details in the meantime.

Despite its appearance, the email is not from Netflix. The claim that your account has been put on hold is a lie designed to trick you into visiting a fraudulent website and submitting sensitive personal information.

If you do click the “Update Account” link, you will be taken to a webpage that has been built to look like it is part of the genuine Netflix website. To make it appear legitimate, the fake page includes logos, graphics, and other elements stolen from the genuine Netflix website. But, the webpage has no connection to Netflix.

The webpage features a bogus “Account Update” form that asks you to supply your credit card numbers, your name and address details, and other personal information.

After you fill out the form and hit the “Submit” button, you may see a final message stating that you have successfully restored your account. You may then be automatically redirected to the genuine Netflix home page.

Online criminals can now collect the information that you supplied on the fake form and use it to commit credit card fraud. If the criminals have been able to collect enough of your personal information, they may also attempt to steal your identity.

Netflix customers are almost continually targetted via phishing scam emails and text messages like the one discussed here.

Be wary of any unsolicited Netflix message that claims that you must update account details, rectify a billing issue, verify your identity or restore account access. If you receive such a message, do not click any links or open any attachments that it contains.

It is always safest to login to Netflix via an official app or by entering the address into your browser’s address bar.

The Netflix website includes information about recognising and reporting such phishing attempts.