Fake Netflix Billing Alert Exploits Urgency to Steal User Information
In this phishing attack, cybercriminals impersonate Netflix by sending an email from a lookalike domain, "notice@netflicsx-alerts[.]com." The email, with the subject line “Your Netflix account is on hold!”, claims there is an issue with the recipient’s billing information and urges them to update their payment details immediately by clicking on a provided link. The link redirects recipients to a malicious website designed to steal sensitive information, such as login credentials and payment details. By mimicking the branding and communication style of official Netflix notifications and adding urgency around a billing issue, the attackers exploit the recipient's trust and prompt hasty action without careful scrutiny.
Older, legacy email security tools struggle to accurately identify this email as an attack because it employs the use of a lookalike domain, comes from an unknown sender, and does not include any attachments. Modern AI-powered email security solutions identify that no body link domains match the sending domain, detect common language associated with financial theft, and flag that the included links are potentially malicious to correctly classify the email as an attack.
To protect against these attacks, users should independently verify billing issues by accessing their Netflix account directly through the official website or app rather than clicking on links in unsolicited emails. Organizations can further mitigate risks by educating employees about phishing tactics and deploying advanced email security tools capable of detecting these increasingly sophisticated scams.
Malicious email sent from attackers posing as Netflix requesting updated payment information
How Does This Attack Bypass Email Defenses?
This email attack bypasses traditional security solutions for multiple reasons, including the following:
- Look-alike Domain: The email is sent from a look-alike domain that resembles the legitimate domain, making it difficult for basic domain filters to detect the deception.
- Unknown Sender: The email comes from a sender the recipient's email system has not interacted with before. Legacy security tools often struggle to assess the risk of new senders accurately.
- Lack of Attachments: By not including any attachments, the email avoids detection by antivirus and anti-malware systems focused on attachment-based threats.
How Did Abnormal Detect This Attack?
This attack was detected using AI and ML by analyzing various factors, including the following:
- Unusual Sending Behavior: The sender domain does not match any of the domains found in the body links, raising suspicion.
- Financial Theft Language: The email contains language that may be attempting to steal money from the recipient, a common tactic identified by Abnormal’s content analysis and NLP algorithms to detect potential financial fraud.
- Suspicious Link Analysis: Abnormal's systems scrutinize the presence of links leading to suspicious domains, triggering deeper analysis for possible malicious intent.
By recognizing established normal behavior and detecting these abnormal indicators, a modern email security solution has the ability to prevent this attack from reaching inboxes.
Please note the exact detection mechanism from Abnormal Security's system might include proprietary techniques and methodologies not disclosed here.