Your account is suspended; regards, Netflix

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The texts are annoying, but text scams are more successful than ever.

Cybercriminals send out hundreds of millions of texts and they are highly successful. The FBI’s Internet Crime Bureau IC3 2022 Internet Crime Report said losses tripled over the past five years. Victims reported $10.3 billion stolen in 2022, and experts said that number is only a fraction of the real losses when victims who didn’t file reports are factored in. The FBI said more than 50% of the victims were elderly.

Here’s a recent example of a fraudulent Netflix text with a link.

Cybercriminals send out hundreds of millions of texts and they are highly successful. — Cybercriminals send out hundreds of millions of texts and they are highly successful.(WANF)

Most people overlook the errors and focus on keywords like “suspended” or “account locked,” according to cybersecurity experts.

Chris Pierson is a cybersecurity expert and the CEO of BLACKCLOAK. He said a cybercriminal’s goal is to create fear and a sense of urgency.

“In order to do that they have to turn off that rational thinking side of your brain,” Pierson said. “They have to get you into this loop that you have to rush to action and rush to judgment that you’ll act quickly, that you won’t think as much, and you’ll click, and they’ll have you.”

Pierson said never click on the link and if you click on the sender’s information, you can block them.

Better Call Harry wasn’t supposed to click on one of these links but we did, and it took us exactly where we expected, to a site that looks a lot like Netflix with instructions to confirm your account. It requested a name, address, phone number and credit card number.

Netflix has a dedicated page warning customers about the texts and has said it will never ask for personal information or payment through a third party link. So does Amazon.

How to avoid cyber scams:

Never share any personal information, ever.
If you are concerned about your account, go directly to the website and check your account status.
When you receive a scam text message, click on the sender’s information, and block the caller.
If you have an elderly parent or grandparent, educate them and teach them to NEVER CLICK ON THE LINK.

If there’s something you would like Atlanta News First′s Consumer Investigator Better Call Harry to look into, fill out this submission form.

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