GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – If your older brother sends you his Netflix password for free, that’s a heck of a deal! But if you get a text from a random number offering a free year of a Netflix membership, that should raise some questions.
Some people have already fallen victim from the deal that seems a bit too good to be true.
“[They received texts from] somebody claiming to be Netflix offering a free year of service because of the pandemic,” said Susan Bach of the Better Business Bureau. “They had to enter some personal information, including their credit card information, then the scammer started charging their credit card monthly for about $40. And they’re not just communicating, they’re not offering refunds.”
One victim told BBB Scam Tracker that scammers charged their credit card repeatedly – even after they asked for a refund. “[The scammers] said no other money would be taken out of my account again,” the victim reported. “Then, about a week later, they took $39.99, and I called and asked for a refund. They told me 3 days at first. Then, after 3 days I called back, and they told me 7-10 business days. It’s been 10 business days. And now I have no refund.”
If you receive such a text and click through the link, it’s important to take a very close look at the web address you’re directed towards. If you’re not on the official Netflix website, it’s a scammer.
“Netflix is very clear on its own website that they’re never going to text or email you asking for credit card information, bank account details, or your Netflix password,” Bach told WTAQ News. “If it looks like it’s too good to be true or it’s just a strange offer go directly to Netflix and see if they are offering this type of promotion…or call their customer service line.”
Even if you recognize that the message is a scam, Bach says to not text back for any reason. Scammers often send out texts like this en masse to a massive list of random numbers.
“Ignore any kind of instruction to text ‘Stop’ or ‘No’ to stop receiving these types of messages, because that really just confirms that they’ve reached an operable working phone number,” Bach explained.
Even if you don’t fall for this scam, Netflix advises its customers to change their password if they’ve been targeted. Click here for more tips from Netflix. If you’ve received text messages from scammers, report your experience to BBB.org/ScamTracker.
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