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Netflix Hackers Selling Lifetime Services On The ‘Dark Web’, There Is A Remedy

By Tony Smejek
Published on: 06:26 PST, Dec 2, 2015

Netflix hackers have been selling compromised services under lifetime membership subscriptions. Other online streaming services have also gone this direction, as well. It looks to aim at those wanting to purchase services at a cheaper rate. Otherwise known as the “Dark Web” marketplace, apparently there are online venues to purchase Netflix, HBO GO, Spotify, and other venues where someone can purchase these services much cheaper, according to Business Insider.

There is a catch when it comes to the hackers — one would have to use a specific browser called TOR in order to gain access to these sites, and masking your IP address in the process. Typically, this allows the already-compromised accounts to be accessed by those who make the purchase through this method. Netflix services can be purchased this way at $0.50 for a lifetime membership. HBO GO and HBO NOW services can be acquired through the same means at under $10, and sports services at around $15, according to BGR.

The Netflix hackers also provide a guarantee for the lifetime memberships based upon the likelihood that the compromised account holders won’t cancel, according to BGR. Apparently, there is even a help desk for these services, which likely gives it an appearance of legitimacy, but according to Intel Security CTO Raj Samani, he mentioned that the underground market for this attempts to do their best to make their guarantee “risk-free” even though it really can’t be labeled as such. Keep in mind, the original Netflix and other accounts had their credit card and other pieces of information compromised. So it looks like the hackers are getting more creative than just the typical acquiring of of information and selling it by itself.

“I don’t want to call it a risk-free transaction but they try to make it as risk-free as they possibly can.”

There’s also a risk here for 4K account exclusiveness for not only Netflix users, but live streaming through Amazon, as well. An article from Value Walk mentions that hackers now can gain access to even 4K movies, too.

The good news for Netflix account holders, according to Business Insider, is for you to keep an eye out for clues or hints regarding your possibly hacked account. For instance, if you start seeing movies popping up in your “recently viewed” section, this may be a sign someone else is logging into your account. If you have family members, you’re probably already familiar with the kinds of movies they watch, or you can confirm with them what they’ve been watching.

There’s a way to see if hackers leaked your Netflix or other online streaming services. Motherboard writer Rachel Pick discovered her hacked account via a web tool called haveibeenpwned.com. She discovered her family’s log-in information at Pastebin, a site known for holding text-based documentation of various sorts of information. The downside to this: one cannot entirely rely on this tool, as there’s other venues that one’s data can be located or acquired via the “Dark Web.”

Business Insider reports that Netflix users can take another course of action if they may think they were compromised. A blanket solution, if you will. There’s a feature that makes everyone log out of Netflix altogether. A forced log out. Everyone is thus booted, temporarily, allowing for the main user to change log-in information, such as the password. This way, hackers can be permanently removed from having to log back into your account. The following method is as follows.

  1. Go to the account page and select, “Sign out of all devices.”
  2. You’ll be prompted to confirm this.
  3. Change the password. (The sign-out process can take up to eight hours.)

With this knowledge that Netflix hackers and other pirated information exist out there, it may behoove you to keep an out out for the signs.

[Photo by Ken Ishii/Getty Images News]

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