More than 700 Web sites mimicking Netflix and Disney+ signup pages have been created seeking to harvest personal information from people during the COVID-19 lockdown streaming boom.
Netflix, which is expected to smash its forecast of 7 million new global subscribers when it reports first-quarter results today, is the main target.
Cybersecurity firm Mimecast has identified about 700 suspicious scam Web sites impersonating the world’s most-popular streaming service that appeared between April 6 and 12.
The newer Disney+, which started its international rollout in earnest last month, was mimicked by four new Web sites in the same one-week period.
Some of the counterfeit sites can look convincing, selling subscriptions or free accounts to harvest personal and credit card data, although most are poorly designed and have language errors that mark them as suspicious.
“We have seen a dramatic rise in suspicious domains impersonating a variety of streaming giants for nefarious purposes,” said Carl Wearn, the head of e-crime at Mimecast. “These spoof Web sites often lure unsuspecting members of the public in with an offer of free subscriptions to steal valuable data. The data harvested includes names, addresses and other personal information, as well as stealing credit card details for financial gain.”
“This COVID-19 environment is a bonanza for streaming giants like Netflix,” said Daniel Ives, the managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities.
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