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FTC Warns Netflix Users About Email Phishing Scam (deadline.com)

Posted by msmash on from the take-note dept.

The Federal Trade Commission has sent out a flare to warn Netflix users that there are some grinches out there looking to take advantage of everyone's holiday bliss and vulnerability. From a report: In a post on the FTC's website, they warned us of scammers using household company names to dupe consumers. In a specific example, they cited a phishing email sent to a Netflix customer that claimed the user's account is on hold because Netflix is "having some trouble with your current billing information." The email invites the user to click on a link to update their payment method. The FTC sent the cautionary message out to all Netflix users so that they won't be victim to phishing.


37 comments

  1. Slashdot is Fake News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And the Nazis were socialists and leftists like Democrats, not alt-right or even plain right.

    1. Re:Slashdot is Fake News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cdreimer left /. after 20 years and posted 100+ videos in 2018. His trolls are still butthurt that he left them alone with APK.

      The thing to do for him: post more videos :)

  2. This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    FTC is only a few years behind the times. Next they should warn us about the emails saying our Apple or Amazon or eBay account has been compromised, click here to verify login details.

    I'm curious though, how exactly does the FTC know who is a Netflix customer to do a targeted mass email warning? This seems to be the real news here; that this data is either public knowledge or available to the government.

    1. Re:This is new? by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      Possibly the FTC is tracking anyone that watched "Bird Box" and didn't want to commit suicide afterwards.

  3. WTF FTC? by Rob+Lister · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The FTC sent the cautionary message out to all Netflix users so that they won't be victim to phishing.

    How does the FTC know who is a Netflix user? And how does it know the email addresses of said users?

    1. Re:WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They bought the list from the scammers.

    2. Re: WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The FTC does not generally email users directly unless they receive a direct request from a consumer/business/etc.
      This email blast was sent out to a selection of media contacts by the only employee at the FTC who is not on furlough.

    3. Re:WTF FTC? by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 1

      How does the FTC know who is a Netflix user? And how does it know the email addresses of said users?

      Gee, if ONLY there was a company that had all of NetFlix's active mail addresses that the FTC could ask.

      But I'm sure they got it from the FBI who are always watching you, as opposed to the NSA who are always watching you AND the FBI. And the FTC for good measure. And NetFlix too, probably -- they like good shows as well.

      --
      If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
    4. Re: WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So seriously predating the shutdown Netflix, among others maintained a lobbyist presence in Washington, not merely to talk to congress but to talk to the FTC, FCC, etc. there was talk of sharing an email list with the FTC but the MPAA objected on the grounds that the list was their property and wanted to be paid a license fee by the government, which of course was a conversation stopper

    5. Re: WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They donâ(TM)t directly. Itâ(TM)s a real hot house at the FTC. Ever walked by? =)

    6. Re:WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      do you even have a brain? does it function properly? you should have that condition of yours checked out by a medical professional.

      it would obviously be sent out in cooperation with netflix; and such communication is a permitted use of your contact information by their privacy policy.

    7. Re:WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Displaying your Asperger's publicly doesn't make you look smart, just autistic.

      It doesn't make sense for the FTC to obtain the necessary court order to obtain the entire list of Netflix subscribers and develop and execute an email campaign, when Netflix could just email their customers themselves. Besides, I have received no email from the FTC or Netflix, so this article is clearly retarded.

    8. Re: WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes the incompetence of the federal government combined with the incompetence of most companies, even when the American people say what they want very clearly, is astounding. Iâ(TM)m surprised they would know a Russian spy if they tripped over one in the dark and it slapped them in the face. Maybe when FTC personnel are back in the office they can clear this matter up in their very typical artistic and complicated way. Hail Washington full of grace and lobbyists

    9. Re: WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dont do the crime
      If you cant do the time
      And its a crying shame
      If you dont play the game

    10. Re:WTF FTC? by Zocalo · · Score: 1

      What's retarded here is the grasp of English, both in the writing of TFA/TFS (which is clearly lacking clarity) and the comprehension of what was written (lack of clarity aside, at no point does it actually state that the FTC sent an email to any Netflix users, let alone all of them).

      AFAICT, all the FTC has actually done is made a blog post on their website - the linked "flare" - about some phishing emails that were sent by scammers targetting Netflix users. We don't even know how accurate that list was, it could easily have been the usual shotgun blast like all those other phishing emails you get for banks etc. you've never done business with.

      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
    11. Re: WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently they have a vey small brain. Perhaps they can learn

    12. Re:WTF FTC? by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      I didn't get an email from them. I even checked the spam folder. Nope. Nada. Nothing at all.

    13. Re: WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gee what a shock. Have you ever really gotten anything good in your spam folder? Thatâ(TM)s just what all these companies say. Thereâ(TM)s no point

    14. Re: WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is good to learn why someone is phishing if they keep on phishing. It could be a real problem, especially if
      A) money disappears for your checking
      B) the phishing attempts seem to be coming from more than one place

    15. Re: WTF FTC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haha lobbyists getting paid to twiddle their fingers. Smooch!

    16. Re:WTF FTC? by gtall · · Score: 1

      Did you know that the FBI has assigned a personal watcher each for every man, woman, and child in America. Golly, there's nothing they don't see. And they only use Americans to watch Americans. Yes, I know, that math doesn't add up. But this is the FBI we're talking about, they don't have to abide by any mathematical rules.

  4. Netflix knew weeks ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I tried to send a copy of these mails (as .eml attachment) to phishing at netflix dot com but it was being refused by GMail (they use GMail for their emails it seems) because it contained why GMail thought was forbidden content. Some irony eh? I even talked to their chat support about it, not much they could do in terms of me delivering an example of such mail to them....

    Hey Netflix, if you want people to send you potential malware as example of campaigns against Netflix users, don't use GMail for that!

    1. Re: Netflix knew weeks ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is this so complicated it makes it hard to breathe?

    2. Re: Netflix knew weeks ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haha bit torrent is how Netflix gets their email. Better send it that way too!

    3. Re:Netflix knew weeks ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Very true! Gmail filters that stuff. They should use a Comcast account for that. Comcast lets all that stuff come right in. Just yesterday I got an email with a PDF attachment that was about my Apple account being blocked and another about my recent purchase of PUBG mobile from the Apple store (with the same attachment). Of course my Comcast account only gets spam and malware. And I don't have an Apple account. It did make me take a minute to look at what else was coming into that Comcast account. A Wells Fargo scam (so three malware notes in the last handful of days) and some spam like for printer ink and some stupid "tactical flashlights" and a bunch of stuff from some national republican party thing (I'm not a member). It just goes to show that there is still a very high percentage of email that is malware, scams, and spam - and my Gmail account gets maybe 1 or 2 a month. Comcast? I think it gets ALL of it.

  5. Now phishers have a new target by xack · · Score: 1

    Expect fake emails "warning" about phishing, that is a phishing email.

    1. Re:Now phishers have a new target by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Expect fake emails "warning" about phishing, that is a phishing email.

      That wouldn't be much different than the "We've detected a VIRUS on your system. Click here to scan." popups.

  6. SPAM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can we kick this SPAM shit off the front page. The link is NOT to the FTC Web site, but to someone's shitty, third-rate site bubbling over with ads. What the fuck, editors?

    1. Re:SPAM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was just an ad for an inflatable sheep, GEEZ, just because YOU didnt go out and get an inflatable sheep :P

    2. Re:SPAM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then the site must be owned by that fat IT clerk who lives in San Jose and works in Palo Alto.

    3. Re:SPAM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Buzz off Chris, that's all you can think of isn't it? (goats, sheep, pre-teenagers...)

  7. Because they didn't send one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They didn't send an email. They posted a notice to their website. Nowhere does the summary or the article say they sent an *email*.

  8. This is what happens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When a TECHNOLOGY news site is sold to non-geeks.

    It gets Geekier!

    And it's loosing credibility fast.

    There needs to be some level of fact checking in the front end.

    There isn't even any competition for first post anymore! A true sign of decline.

  9. It only took 10 years for them to notice ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All y'all 'muricans have such efficient grubermint agencies since this sort of thing has been going on for at least a decade. I guess it took a while for them to notice. Since NetFlix still works, they must be full-a-shit.

    I find it very amusing to get phishing mail says that "your so and so account has been blocked". Thank God. I don't use it anyway and there is no way to get rid of the damn thing that I have been able to find. Even more amusing is all the phishing that says the "your so and so account has been blocked" when I don't even have an account with so and so.

    The worst thing of course is these stupid arseholes that require password changes, have "password reset questions", and load malicious javascript from far and wide that cannot be disabled.

    Fuck em all and get the hell off my lawn!

  10. Web-Pages-over-SMTP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From looking at the pretty pictures, it appears that this is directed at those twats who use Web-Pages-Over-SMTP. Anyone that stoopid deserves whatever befalls them.

  11. Maybe we should go back to plain text emails by u801e · · Score: 1

    It would it harder to send a phishing email if you can't use a href tag to hide the real URL, and the user was forced to copy the url and open it in another browser tab.

  12. hold up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    can't you just check if the email is from netflix.com or not?