Hackers have long targeted credit card numbers, bank accounts and social media passwords.
Now, like the rest of us, they want cheap Netflix.
Research by Californian security firm Symantec has examined the ever-growing industry for stolen personal data, which is now responding to the huge consumer interest in the popular streaming video service.
Fraudsters often harvest account information through “social engineering”, which lures users into giving up their login details through a spam email or login page that looks like an official Netflix page.
Other software looks like the Netflix program but actually uses the site as a decoy, harvesting login details when the user signs in.
Hackers typically then sell this information for less than the normal Netflix subscription rate of about $9.99 a month. The total number of compromised accounts is not known, but one marketplace documented by Symantec claims to offer accounts for as little as 25 cents.
“300,000 in stock. 7 Day Guarantee,” its advert says.
The report offers a reminder to consumers to closely guard digital passwords that may not seem as valuable as a bank password or email login.
Netflix accounts can be used anywhere, and by one to four people at the same time. If others are using a customer’s account, it could lock out a valid Netflix user.
A company spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Managing fraud is a tough balancing act for the company, though sharing Netflix logins is a common practice among roommates, romantic partners and family members.
McAfee researchers released a similar report last fall, and also found similar scams for HBO’s steaming service and Marvel’s digital comics website.
It is unclear how large the market is for these services and what dent, if any, they make in companies’ bottom lines. Netflix last month reported it now has more than 75 million subscribers, adding 5.59 million users during the last three months of 2015.
