How To Spot The Netflix Email Scam That’s Been Sent Out To As Many As 110 Million Subscribers

netflix email scam phishing

pixinoo / Shutterstock.com


Once again the ne’er-do-wells of the world are trying to screw up our lives by taking advantage of our logic and gullibility. This time it’s Netflix’s turn because as many as 110 million Netflix subscribers, according to Deadline, may be targets of an email phishing scam.

Here’s how to spot the scam and protect yourself, according to MailGuard

This scam email is relatively well designed. The scammers are using a template system to generate individualised messages with specific recipient data.

This works like a mail-merge; the body of the email is generic, but the sender field is designed to show the name of the intended victim, which personalises the scam making it more convincing.

In this case the scammer’s system has not worked as well as they hoped and in the example below – screen-captured by our operations team – you can see that the ‘recipient’ field in the email has not been merged successfully. Instead of the victim’s name, it shows the placeholder instead:

Aside from the error with the recipient name field, this email looks quite convincing. The message tells the intended victim that their Netflix billing information has been invalidated and urges them to update their details on the website. If the recipient clicks the link in the email they are taken to a fake Netflix page, that asks them to log in and then enter their personal information, including credit card details.

In a statement to Mashable, Netflix had this to say about the scam…

We take the security of our members’ accounts seriously and Netflix employs numerous proactive measures to detect fraudulent activity to keep the Netflix service and our members’ accounts secure. Unfortunately, scams are common on the internet and target popular brands such as Netflix and other companies with large customer bases to lure users into giving out personal information.

Members who want to learn more about how to keep their personal information safe against malicious online activity can go to netflix.com/security or contact Customer Service directly.

Got it? Good.

Now get back to binge-watching all the new shows and movies hitting Netflix the month.

Douglas Charles headshot avatar BroBible
Before settling down at BroBible, Douglas Charles, a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), owned and operated a wide assortment of websites. He is also one of the few White Sox fans out there and thinks Michael Jordan is, hands down, the GOAT.