Has your Netflix account been hacked? There have been several recent reports about hackers selling Netflix, HBO and Spotify streaming accounts for as little as $0.25 for a lifetime subscription on the Dark Web. Could you be one of the victims? There are a few ways to tell. First, you'll want to check your account using these steps:
- Click on your account icon in the top right hand of the screen.
- Select "Your Account."
- Select "Viewing Activity." If there are titles showing up that you didn't watch, that's the first red flag - but everything could appear normal. Don't stop there.
- Select "Recent Account Access." Here, you should see only your locations. If it's just your devices you're all set.
But,
if you're like me, you might have seen a few locations that were
outside of where you live. I live in Phoenix and saw California showing
up.
What should you do? If you've been hacked, head back to the "Your Account" page and under "My Profile" click on "Sign out of all devices." According to Netflix, "This method of deactivation will disconnect all devices currently connected to your Netflix account, but may take up to 8 hours to take effect.
Next, you will need to reset your Netflix password. Here are those instructions straight from Netflix itself:
To reset your password via email, send yourself a password reset email.
The email should arrive within about a minute, and contains a link that
will sign you in to Netflix automatically. From there, you'll be asked
to create a new password. The link in the email expires after 24 hours,
so be sure to use it as soon as possible.
If the link in the email has expired, don't worry - you can always send yourself another password reset email.
Next, if you want to dig even deeper, you can see which specific email address was hacked with the site Have I Been Pwned?
Just type in your email address and hit enter. The site will tell you
where and how your account was compromised. You can also sign up to get
alerts in the future so that you can keep your personal information
safe.
