Scammers target streaming fans with fake Netflix and Disney sites

MORE than 700 scam websites purporting to be legitimate streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ are targeting lockdown binge viewers.

Hackers are exploiting the rise in streaming and creating fake sites to convince people to hand over their personal and credit card information, a cyber security firm has warned. While many of the websites posing as Amazon Prime, Netflix or the newlylaunched Disney+ are poorly designed and full of spelling errors, others look authentic, and lure users into signing up with offers of “free trials”, according to Mimecast. “We have seen a dramatic rise in suspicious domains impersonating a variety of streaming giants for nefarious purposes,” Carl Wearn, the head of e-crime at Mimecast, told The Guardian. “The data harvested includes names, addresses and other personal information, as well as stealing credit card details for financial gain.”

Mimecast identified around 700 websites impersonating Netflix which appeared at the start of April. The weekend Disney+ was launched in

Europe on March 24, four counterfeit sites were detected by the firm.

Broadcasters and streaming services have enjoyed a spike in viewers since lockdown during which time Netflix has seen its market value surge to $192 billion (£153 billion). Around 50 million people globally have now signed up to Disney+.

“This Covid-19 environment is a bonanza for streaming giants like Netflix,” said Daniel Ives, the managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities. “Tech stalwarts like Netflix and Amazon continue to lead the tech market as investors realise the strong are getting stronger. While the Covid-19 environment is tragic and has caused a near-term economic collapse, Netflix for now is in the right place at the right time with Disney, Apple, NBC Universal’s Peacock and, soon, HBO Max chasing after this streaming landscape.”

In the past week of March, UK households watched more broadcast TV than they had in any previous week for the past two years, excluding Christmas. Broadcasters recorded a 29 per cent increase in viewership over Easter compared with the previous year.