Netflix scam sparks police warning after ‘bogus’ emails sent to customers

Netflix customers have been warned not to fall for an apparently convincing scam targeting people this week.

Fraudsters are sending emails claiming users' accounts have been disabled which tell customers: “You may want to update your payment details”.

The email, which bears many of the hallmarks of official correspondence from the popular streaming service, also contains a link for customers to reactivate their account.

Action Fraud, the police’s national cyber crime reporting centre, put out a warning on Twitter: “There's a bogus #Netflix email doing the rounds this week that's designed to snatch your bank details!”

Many police accounts then retweeted the alert in a bid to spread awareness and urge caution.

A spokesman for Netflix said: “We take the security of our members' accounts seriously and Netflix employs numerous proactive measures to detect fraudulent activity to keep the Netflix service and our members' accounts secure.

“Unfortunately, scams are common on the internet and target popular brands such as Netflix and other companies with large customer bases to lure users into giving out personal information.”

Experts advise people to be wary of emails with embedded links and instead suggest visiting websites directly using your browser if in any doubt.