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Hackers are selling stolen Netflix accounts on the black market for as little as $0.25 each

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At $9.99 a month, a Netflix subscription probably seems like a pretty good deal to most people. But there's actually significant demand for access to cheaper Netflix accounts. 

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That's according to Symantec, the security software company, which said in a research report released Thursday that "there's a growing black market that claims to provide cheaper access to the service."

Symantec recently found that cyber criminals are selling access to stolen Netflix accounts for as little as $0.25 each, a small fraction of the cost of an actual Netflix subscription.

It's even possible to buy huge batches of active Netflix accounts that, according to Symantec, could allow someone "to open their own illegal store" that sells stolen accounts.

These are legitimate Netflix accounts that are being paid each month by regular people. But cybercriminals have gained access to the login information and are selling it online.

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An ad for a "Netflix Shop" that sells stolen accounts. Symantec

How they do it

There are two ways cybercriminals primarily gain access to Netflix accounts, according to Symantec: Phishing and through malware.

Phishing occurs when a cyber criminal poses as a legitimate service, like a bank, email provider, or, as in this case, Netflix, to gain access to login credentials.

Symantec said that in some cases Netflix subscribers have received notices that claim to be from Netflix that instruct them to update their account information. But the link goes to a fake site rather than the official Netflix site, so any account information entered gets stolen. 

Another way account information is stolen is through malware that someone has downloaded to their computer. The malware, which Symantec says has mostly affected subscribers in Brazil, is disguised to look like Netflix software, but it's actually a Trojan that once downloaded and opened can steal banking information. Symantec says that users can be tricked into downloading the malware by ads that claim to offer less expensive access to Netflix.

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How to protect yourself

Symantec recommends that people make sure that they only download Netflix apps from Netflix itself or from other official sources, like the Google Play store and Apple's App Store.

People should also make sure that they're only entering their account information on legitimate sites. Be sure to check the URL. 

A Netflix spokesperson told Tech Insider that the company will contact subscribers if it sees "unusual activity on their accounts and let them know we've scrambled their password to thwart this activity."

Here's an ad for a "Netflix Account Generator" that could be used to open an illegal online marketplace that sells access to accounts:

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netflix account generator
Symantec

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

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