Some Netflix users have received emails or text messages stating their Netflix account would be locked. The text of the message varies, but it inevitably asks for users to log in to update their payment details. These communications usually come as a shock to people because their payment information is correct. Since these messages often look like official communications, it can be hard to tell if the Netflix locked account emails or texts are a scam or real.
Are messages telling me my Netflix account is locked a scam or real?
There have been reports going back several years of people receiving texts or emails that their Netflix account will be locked if their payment information isn’t updated. Often, the emails will use the Netflix logo and feature an appearance modeled after the website. However, these communications are phishing scams.
Emails claiming that a person’s Netflix account will be locked don’t come from a Netflix.com account. Both texts and emails will include a URL that will take users to a page that looks like the Netflix site but which isn’t hosted on netflix.com. Depending on the scheme, this site might be just stealing a person’s username and password. Others will ask users to update their payment information.
Often, phishing emails are easy to spot for tech-savvy users. The worst of them will contain frequent misspellings and only make a lackluster attempt to seem like the real thing. However, some scammers are getting more sophisticated in their phishing attempts. Recent scam logins even have Captchas to make the page seem more legitimate.
The easiest way to avoid these phishing schemes is to only input Netflix account information on the official site. Even if a user is concerned that their payment information may need to be updated, they should go to the official website to do so instead of clicking a link in an email. If a user believes they may have been the victim of a scam, they should immediately change their Netflix password and contact their financial institution to have a new card number issued.
