Stranger Things, one of the most anticipated series, released season four in early July. Despite a three-year hiatus due to pandemic-related delays, the series was eagerly anticipated and topped streaming charts once again. Unfortunately, fraudsters have actively exploited ardent fans’ desire to see new episodes as soon as possible. Kaspersky researchers discovered numerous examples of spam emails and phishing pages designed to steal money and personal information from these fans.
Even though new episodes have been released, fans are still at risk because not everyone prefers to watch the series on the official website. When users refuse to pay for a streaming service subscription and instead choose to watch a movie or show on an unauthorized page, they end up paying a higher price – losing their personal information and card data.
Taking advantage of the popularity of this popular series, some cybercriminals have advertised the ability for users to “watch the new episodes for only $1.” To take advantage of this offer, they had to create a new account and enter their address and bank information. After entering their information, fraudsters emptied victims’ wallets, preventing them from watching the new season of their favorite show.
Fraudsters are tricking viewers into entering bank card details
Kaspersky experts have discovered spam emails that take advantage of Stranger Things’ popularity. Such emails are used to sell low-quality products and are distributed through promotional emails without the recipient’s knowledge. In one of the spam emails, for example, users were offered the chance to purchase limited-edition graphic t-shirts related to the new season of Stranger Things. The site accepted payments in all languages and currencies. Although it is not necessarily a phishing page, the fact that the ads for these products were promoted through spam and the domain was only recently created raises concerns about the safety of purchasing from this page.
T-shirts on this site could be bought by a fan from anywhere in the world, in any currency, which raises suspicions
“The season four finale was a roller coaster for many viewers, including myself, as a personal fan of the show. However, the painful and challenging ending has only stoked fans’ appetite for more, with excitement already brewing for Stranger Things season five. And as we know, where there is audience demand, scammers will always try to cash in. We can therefore expect that cybercriminals will soon start to actively exploit the popularity of this last season. The danger for users remains as urgent as ever. Fans need to be careful as trying to save money on a streaming service subscription can lead to them losing much more than they could ever save,” comments Olga Svistunova, security expert at Kaspersky.
To avoid falling victim to scams, Kaspersky recommends users:
● Avoid links promising early viewings of films or TV series. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of the content, check with your entertainment provider;
● Check the authenticity of the website before entering personal data, and only use official, trusted web pages to watch or download movies. Double-check URL formats and company name spellings;
● Pay attention to the extensions of the files you are downloading. A video file will never have a .exe or .msi extension;
● Use a reliable security solution, such as Kaspersky Security Cloud, that identifies malicious attachments and blocks phishing sites.
