People who don’t want to pay for Netflix services can buy stolen log-in credentials on the black market for rock-bottom prices, Symantec reports.
The online security company said it found advertisements and software aimed at cheapskate streamers, though it didn’t mention the names of the shady sites and forums.
Netflix Logins For Sale. The ads, which show Netflix logins for sale for as little as a quarter each, proudly display guarantees of “freshly cracked” accounts. They also ask their “customers” not to spoil the fun by changing passwords or messing with payments, either of which would alert the paying user to the fact that their account has been breached.
It is, of course, illegal — these are stolen accounts, gathered through nefarious means like malware and phishing. But since Netflix takes a laissez-faire approach to sharing accounts, paying users could easily be watching shows at the same time as someone who bought their login for a quarter on the Dark Web.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said in the past that he doesn’t consider password sharing a big problem, and as long as the user base keeps growing (the service just passed 65 million subscribers globally), this common practice is likely to stay that way
Sharing your Netflix log-in? Turns out you might not be the only one who lets a friend or family member log into your Netflix account. In fact, if you don’t, you’re in the minority, according to a poll of over 5,000 Netflix users conducted by Global Web Index.
Only 35 percent of users claimed to be the sole user of the account — 30 percent shared it with one other person, 16 percent with two people, and 19 percent shared it with three or more.
Netflix has plans that permit multiple streams to multiple screens at once, which means they’re fine with accounts being shared to a certain degree. Two spouses and a kid watching a movie shouldn’t require three accounts, of course — but spreading the login among four or five friends might be something the company would like to stop.
Could your account be on one of these lists? It’s hard to say, but one easy way to check is to look at your recently watched shows. If you see a lot you don’t recognize and don’t seem like your style (or that of anyone you share with), you might want to change your password. That simple action will immediately stop your account from being used by others without your permission.
