Got an email from Netflix claiming ‘Your Account Has Been Blocked’? Take care, it’s likely to be the latest scam email that is now being intercepted by MailGuard. The email asks customers to ‘Update current billing information’, advising that the service is ‘unable to approve your payment for your next subscription cycle’.
Sent from ‘Support’, the sender email is actually ‘support(at)cu-newyearparty2022(dot)com’, a domain address registered within the last month, and not an official Netflix account. The mail server is hosted in Japan, and the websites' domain appears to be registered in India, hosted by Newfold Digital, a very large web hosting company.
Here’s what the email looks like:
When an unsuspecting user clicks through on the ‘Try Again Payment’ button, they are prompted to 'Sign in' to their Netflix account (example page below), at which point their credentials are harvested for use by cybercriminals for use in future attacks, and to be sold on the dark web.
After entering your account 'Sign in' credentials, the scammers present an ‘Update Payment Information’ page (below) at which point they capture your full name and address, and your credit card information.
In the final stages of the scam, the cybercriminals request a mobile phone number which is used for account verification, mimicking a legitimate sign in process in order to avoid suspicion.
The last step is sending you a 'Confirmation code' which has been sent to your nominated mobile number.
Netflix is a popular target for scammers, leveraging its’ trusted brand to scam its enormous customer base. Here's a similar scam that MailGuard intercepted in November 2021.
Although this new scam employs the recognisable branding elements of Netflix that make the emails feel so familiar, small tell-tale signs like the fake sender email address, and grammatical errors should provide sufficient warning to think twice before panicking that you might be about to miss out on the next season of your favourite blockbuster.
Netflix provides the following advice to customers that suspect they have received a scam email:
‘Suspicious emails
- Don't click any of the links or open any of the attachments.
- Forward the email to phishing@netflix.com. Note: If your email is rejected when you forward it, it means we have already received a copy of the phishing message. ...
- Delete the email.’
MailGuard advises all recipients of this email to delete it immediately without clicking on any links. Providing your personal details can result in your sensitive information being used for criminal activity and may have a severe negative impact on your business and its’ financial well-being.
MailGuard urges users not to click links or open attachments within emails that:
- Are not addressed to you by name.
- Appear to be from a legitimate company but use poor English or omits personal details that a legitimate sender would include.
- Are from businesses that you were not expecting to hear from, and/or
- Take you to a landing page or website that is not the legitimate URL of the company the email is purporting to be sent from.
One email is all that it takes
All that it takes to devastate your business is a cleverly worded email message that can steal sensitive user credentials or disrupt your business operations. If scammers can trick one person in your company into clicking on a malicious link or attachment, they can gain access to your data or inflict damage on your business.
For a few dollars per staff member per month, you can protect your business with MailGuard's predictive and advanced email security. Talk to a solution consultant at MailGuard today about securing your company's inboxes.
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