As coronavirus is forcing millions of people to turn to the screens for entertainment, cybercriminals are capitalising, targeting viewers of streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
These schemes include the use of social phishing and fraudulent websites set up to steal money from Netflix users who believe they are buying a subscription from Netflix directly. Criminals are also trying to steal Netflix user details to compromise accounts.
BrandShield’s online threat hunting system has detected, 639 new domain names registered with the exact word “Netflix” in them since the beginning of 2020.Out of 639, 236 domains were registered in March only.
In addition, 41% of the new websites created in 2020 have a mail server indicating that phishing emails may also be being sent.
Many examples of fake Netflix sites show that criminals are looking to steal money from viewers hoping to access Netflix films and TV shows. For instance, fake websites such as www.netflixvietnam.com and are posing as the Netflix pages for particular countries asking for viewers payment details.
Yoav Keren, CEO, BrandShield said, “As the world goes into lockdown, cybercriminals are capitalising on people spending more and more time online. Consumers of streaming websites are increasingly at risk of successful phishing attacks.
“We have seen an explosion in domain names featuring ‘Netflix’ as criminals are looking to catch consumers out and extract financial or personal records. Governments must do more to educate the public about the risks they face, and how they can protect themselves.
“BrandShield protects some of the biggest corporations in the world and we takedown thousands of threats across websites and social media every month. We are getting companies approaching us all the time asking for our help. This problem is only going to get bigger as people spend more time transacting and interacting online.”
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