Netflix scam emails and texts: how to spot the fake account warning
Quick answer
An email or text saying your Netflix account is locked or your payment failed, with a link to fix it, is a phishing scam. Netflix says it won't ask for your password or card details by text or email. Don't click. Forward it to phishing@netflix.com.
- Pretends to be
- Netflix
- Last updated
How it works
The message claims there's a problem with your membership: a declined payment, a suspended account or an expiring plan. It has a link to a page that looks like Netflix's sign-in. When you enter your email, password and card details, the scammers collect them.
Netflix's help centre says a message asking for your account email, phone, password or payment method probably didn't come from Netflix, and that Netflix never takes payment through a third-party vendor or website.
What they want: your login (to sell or reuse it, including on other sites where you reused the password), and your card or bank details. Netflix is the impersonated company, not the scammer.
Red flags
- A message saying your account is locked, suspended or your payment was declined
- A link to "update your billing" that isn't on netflix.com
- A request for your password, card number or bank details by text or email
- A greeting that doesn't use your name, and urgent wording
Example message
Netflix: your payment was declined and your membership is on hold. Update your payment details within 24 hours to avoid cancellation: [link]
What to do
- 1
Don't click the link
Open the Netflix app or type the address into your browser to check your account. If nothing is wrong there, the message was fake.
- 2
Forward it and delete it
Netflix's help page says to forward suspect messages to its phishing mailbox, then delete them.
- 3
If you entered your password, change it
Change your Netflix password, and the password on any other account that used the same one.
- 4
If you entered card details, call your bank
Use the number on your card. Ask them to block the card and watch for charges.
- 5
Report it
File a report with the FTC. In the UK, Canada and Australia use your national fraud reporting service.
Report it
Check if your details are exposed with Serus
Scammers find your number and address on data brokers and people-search sites. Serus removes them.
Why you got it
Netflix scams go out in huge batches, but the ones that use your name and your real email address are more convincing. Those details come from data brokers, people-search sites and old breaches, and a password reused after a breach is what turns a scam email into a hijacked account. Serus finds where your phone number, address and email are listed and removes them, and alerts you when your details show up in a breach, so fewer scammers can reach you. See our guide on what to do after a data breach.
Frequently asked
Does Netflix text or email to ask for payment details?
Netflix says it never asks for your card, bank or password details by text or email.
How do I check whether there's a real problem with my account?
Open the Netflix app or type netflix.com yourself and look at your account and billing.
What do I do if I entered my password?
Change it right away, and change it anywhere else you used it.
Where do I report a Netflix scam message?
Forward it to Netflix's phishing mailbox, as its help page says, and report it to the FTC.
Sources
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