New York City, New York – March 29, 2019 – MyChargeBack, the market-leading fund recovery service, is warning consumers that a rapidly spreading phishing attack leverages advanced technology to expose tens of millions of users around the world to potential identity theft and severe financial losses.
Phishing is, in essence, a sort of fraud in which an illegitimate entity impersonates a trusted one in order to obtain sensitive private information, such as passwords, credit card information and more.
What makes this new phishing attack, which specifically targets Netflix subscribers, particularly insidious is that it incorporates a major technological improvement that renders it much harder to detect. “Previous phishing attacks, even ones that were very well designed, still suffered from being generic,”explains James Bowen of MyChargeBack. “At some point, recipients of phishing emails would get suspicious because the system wasn’t recognizing them,” he continues. “But when you receive this new and improved version, in which you’re asked to type in your username and password to verify you’re a Netflix subscriber, it actually verifies it with Netflix and then populates your real name into the next screen to ask for your credit card information,” he warns. “The whole thing looks and acts like it’s authentic.”
Once they have your credit card number, another technological advancement allows the criminals behind the scam to verify card information, including your credit limit, in real time, prompting the user to correct any errors before disappearing. They will then typically spend the maximum you’d otherwise be allowed as quickly as possible. In the event a debit card is used, they will be free to drain the victim’s entire checking account.
“It’s no surprise that the first appearance of this new technology focuses on Netflix,” Bowen says. “With over 100 million users worldwide, it’s a target so huge that it’s bound to convince a large percentage of them to fall into the trap,” he predicts. “And, if it’s successful, you can bet your bottom dollar that it’ll be around for a long time in one permutation or another. Guaranteed.”
Phishing Losses
Phishing attacks, which typically reach victims by means of spam email, have been an omnipresent threat since the earliest days of the internet. Governments, security companies and targeted corporations have been fighting a multi-front war against this threat, but the problem seems only to be getting worse. Aside from the countless private individuals victimized, the U.S. business community lost an estimated half a billion dollars in 2018, with large corporations each losing about $3 million every year.
About MyChargeBack
MyChargeBack.com is a global leader in fund recovery services. Working with over 750 banks worldwide, it has retrieved more than $10 million for clients in more than 150 countries who were victims of online scams involving both goods and services. Founded in 2016, MyChargeBack is owned and operated by Cactil LLC, a Delaware corporation.
Media ContactCompany Name: MyChargeBackContact Person: James GreenEmail: Send EmailPhone: 1-888-350-8030Address:1441 Broadway, 3rd Floor PMB# 3111 City: New YorkState: New YorkCountry: United StatesWebsite: www.mychargeback.com
