FAKE NETFLIX, DISNEY+, AMAZON PRIME: OVER 700 FRAUD WEBSITES CYBERCRIMINALS TARGETING TO STEAL DATA

People are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic by staying indoors. Hence the number of subscribers for online streaming websites has sky-rocketed. Netflix, Disney+, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, among the others are seeing an upsurge since people have turned to them in mass numbers to keep themselves entertained. Cybercriminals have left no stones unturned as they have taken advantage of this situation and turned it around since they have created fake platforms under the same names, thereby collecting personal information and credit card details of those who fall prey.

More than 700 suspicious scam websites have mimicked Netflix and Disney+, reported The Guardian. While some are selling on a subscription basis, some others are providing streaming for free. Among these impersonating websites, some have language errors and design limitations while others look convincing.

“These spoof websites 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,” Carl Wearn head of e-crime at Mimecast told The Guardian.

Apart from these, cybercriminals have also created fake applications for tracking the number of positive COVID-19 cases in their respective locations. Through this, they have tried to access location wise information of various populations. However, that situation has been contained since the App Store and Google Play Store has not been permitting applications apart from those authorised by governments.