Got phished by a fake Netflix email last month, lost $60 before I caught it

I was sitting in my living room watching TV when I got an email saying my Netflix payment failed. It looked exactly like their real emails, same logo and everything. I clicked the link and put in my credit card info without thinking twice. Two days later I saw a $60 charge for something called 'StreamPlusVIP' and realized what happened. Has anyone else fallen for those fake subscription emails and what do you look for now to spot them?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_kelly911mo ago

Got a similar fake PayPal email once @sam_murphy39, spent a week arguing with my bank over $20.

sam_murphy391mo ago

Oh man, that sucks. I mean, just a heads up though, that's technically not phishing. Phishing is when they trick you into giving up your password or personal info, not just your credit card. That's more like a straight up payment scam. But yeah, I've definitely gotten those Netflix ones too. The big thing I look for now is the sender address - if it's not from something like netflix.com, it's fake. Also, I check if the email is trying to get me to click a link instead of just telling me to check my account on the app. That's a huge red flag.