Symantec reports that cybercriminals increasingly use malware or phishing mails to steal Netflix usernames and passwords. These are then sold to people who want to get access to the online video service for less than the regular price.
The accounts are offered on special black markets and the login data is harvested with malware that appears to be official Netflix software. On computers in Brazil most infections with the malware were detected and in Denmark a phishing campaign was discovered that abused the Netflix brand.
With most Netflix accounts it's possible for multiple users to watch videos at the same time. Therefore it's possible for users that use hacked accounts to watch movies on the same account as the legitimate user without being noticed.
Symantec also found software called Netflix Generator that allows continuous retrieval of new hacked Netflix accounts from an online database. The software is sold for $30 for unlimited use. Another seller on the blackmarket sells accounts for $0.25 a piece and claims to have 300,000 accounts in his database.
While that's a lot, it's only a small part of the 75 million worldwide users currently subscribed to Netflix. Users that are concerned about their login data and want to prevent usage by cyber criminals are advised to (frequently) change their password.
