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There are many scams that threaten to drain your bank account. If you are used to reading us, you know that scammers are very inventive. They try, by different means, to get hold of you and acquire your personal data.
As such, Bitdefender cybersecurity experts warn of a massive campaign that aims precisely to steal sensitive information. As always, we call on your great vigilance. Indeed, this is a major scam. For the simple reason that it concerns more than 13 million French people.
Scammers want to empty your bank account
We know how clever scammers are at getting into your bank account. For example, they do not hesitate to pretend to be carriers (like La Poste) when informing you of the loss of a package. This choice is not trivial. They actually know that many French people order every day. So they can fall just right.
Today, 30% of households in France have a Netflix account. This success has been constant for several years. Better yet, it's growing. Indeed, in 2020, we had 6.7 million accounts, compared to 13 million today.
To have
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So, since September, scammers have been trying to empty your bank account using the famous platform. How ? By texting. They pass their statements off as official Netflix messages. This malicious campaign spans 23 countries, including Germany, Spain, France and the United States.
A well-crafted scam
As is often the case, scammers use alarmist language to worry the French. In this way, they hope that the latter will act quickly, without thinking too much. This is how they manage to empty your bank accounts.
So, in the message they send, they warn of a problem regarding the processing of payment for the subscription. They then ask subscribers to log in and confirm their contact details.
Some variants speak of a failed payment, reinforcing the urgency to encourage victims to act quickly. However, Netflix never asks for this type of information via SMS, Bitdefender recalls.
Why do these scams work?
Fraudsters rely on two main techniques to deceive their victims and empty their bank accounts. First, it starts with precise targeting. To do this, scammers exploit stolen data that they retrieve from the dark web. Then they play with urgency by creating psychological pressure.
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We therefore invite the French to be wary and to have the right reflexes. To start, If you want to protect your bank account, don't click on suspicious links. If you have any doubts, go to the sites in question for yourself. Scammers know how to imitate sites perfectly. To avoid being fooled, follow the steps.
The scammers' messages seek to create panic. Take the time to think before you act. Finally, if you think you have been targeted or have inadvertently clicked on a suspicious link, change your passwords immediately, contact your bank and report the incident to Netflix as well as to the competent authorities.
By adopting these reflexes, you will help protect yourself and limit the impact of these malicious campaigns.
