If we put a counter on the scams that reach us on the iPhone (or any other mobile phone) we would probably run out of battery in less than a week. Especially with the very annoying call from “Indeed human resources”, which is one of the most common scams. However, today I received one that left me confused and that, supposedly, non-payment alert on Netflix.
At first I was distrustful, as with every SMS that I receive. However, I have to admit that it is a very well done scam and that circumstantially it could have caught me or any other member of my Netflix household. Of course, it can reach anyone and from there know how to recognize it and how it actsr in case it arrives.
A simple, well-done and highly dangerous scam
This is the SMS with which scammers impersonate Netflix
Like many of today’s scam attempts, it all starts with receiving an SMS in which apparently Netflix writes to us. The techniques to camouflage the originating number that sends us the message are still within the reach of cybercriminals and the fact that the iPhone recognizes it as “Netflix” is not synonymous with it being them.
We do not rule out that there may be variants of this scam, but in this specific case what we are informed is an error in the Netflix subscription payment. It’s not something that should happen regularly, but it’s not strange either. Without going any further, in my particular case I use a prepaid card to which I only add the subscription money one day after it is charged and every other month I have forgotten and the subscription has not been able to be renewed.
Although the attached link may seem real, it is not and it is easily verified by seeing what url appears when you open it with the browser
Another element of this message that is very characteristic of SMS scams is that attach a link. At first, as we will tell you later, it is at least suspicious. However, the url does not seem strange either and at a given moment we might think that it really is from Netflix.
In this sense, a point should be made and it can be seen that the url is false because it does not begin with “netflix.com”, which is the official domain of the platform. In any case, if it were to be a domain like the official one, there are no signs that it is trustworthy either, since the url can also be masked and the text looks one way and the real link is another.
The appearance of the website is similar to that of Netflix, but we insist: it is a scam
In this case, when accessing the website we can find a page that is not from Netflix, but that looks very similar. It clicks and the first thing we see is, once again, an indication of problems with the payment and that has caused the suspension of our account. If we proceed to click on the red button Continuetakes us to another supposed page to log in to.
Once the session has started we are asked identify us with our complete data and, of course, a payment method. For obvious reasons we did not get to that point, but it is evident that this will not really restore our Netflix account, because it is not really suspended and that website is not Netflix.
What the scammers are looking for is to get hold of the key data of our bank card and depending on that steal our money. And to do this, they may make a small charge at the time with the excuse of being the monthly payment for Netflix or, failing that, they may use our data to make unauthorized purchases in digital establishments.
Detecting that it is a scam is really easy
The first and most fundamental thing of all is that Netflix never reports incidents in payment in this way. They do it in the application itself and, if possible, through an email. They will not provide a link to reactivate the account, but instead urge you to do so through the official app or website.
On the other hand, what we mentioned about the link previously. The text that appears in the message is not important, but the url that appears in the browser when we open it. If it doesn’t start with “netflix.com”, it’s not real.
Likewise, another definitive way to verify that it is not real is that we used fake credentials and we were still able to “log in”. Obviously we are not accessing Netflix and the scammers do not know our account and password, so they will accept anything we put in as good because their goal is not to steal the Netflix account, but our credit card, which is exactly what they they will ask for next.
We do not recommend in any case following all these verification steps. The idea is Always be wary of these alarming messages with attached links and delete them. It’s okay to open it, but try not to access the link. And in case you have doubts, nothing better than opening the Netflix app and checking if you still have service.
In case Netflix doesn’t work for youyou can reactivate your account from the corresponding section on the platform’s website. But we insist, from their real website. Try to type the url “www.netflix.com” yourself to avoid entering malicious websites.
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