My Netflix account has been hacked

Notes from the field of a UX consumer

Some quick stats:

After too many hours binging on Bridgerton, although worthwhile, I put my Netflix membership on hold for a few months as of mid-May 2022 (nothing against all other Netflix movies!).

Today, about two weeks after I suspended payment and movie streaming, on May 24, 1:29 AM, I receive three emails from Netflix, ([email protected]).

The first one tells that my membership has been restarted.

The second one that my payment method has been updated to …. …. …. xxxx. In both, I’m addressed as Eva.

The third email, 7 hours later, at 8:38 AM, Netflix is telling me that my email has been updated, as requested. I’m now addressed as Oliver.

The emails seem legit.

Ok, I realize, I got hacked at Netflix

As a UX designer, I also mumble to myself, that’s a bad user experience.

I discover that someone named Oliver hacked into my account. At least, the name is not outerplanetalien.

I back-check everything.

First check, I ask everyone in person in my house. No one logged into my account. Confirmed. Also, I don’t know any Oliver.

Second check, the 4 credit card digits stated in the email don’t match with any of my accounts. Phew.

Third check, I try to log on to Netflix. Mmh, I can no longer log into my account with my original settings.

Realization: I got hacked. Now I have to call Help at Netflix, and spend the next hour mediating this situation. Bummer. I wasn’t planning to start my day like this.

Fourth check, what’s the actual Netflix help-line phone #?

I quadruple check Netflix’s landing page information on three different browsers. 1–844–505–2993 seems legit, although at this point, my trust level is at 0.001.

My Netflix trust level: 0.001 out of 10

I call 1–844–505–2993.

I get a recording:

Help us improve the Netflix experience

Unquestionably, I will help improve my user experience at Netflix.

However, I’m in luck. A real person answers within 30 seconds. That’s good! I feel I’m no longer alone with my hacker.

Mediating the hacker with the Netflix expert

The Netflix expert has a nice voice. I like her. As a UX interviewer, I immediately recognize she is well trained to ask the right questions. She asks me the time I received the emails. Good.

She asks me when I last watched movies on Netflix. Some weeks ago.

She then asks me for the email address I use to subscribe to Netflix. I give it to her. She asks me if I’ve ever used any other emails. No.

She tells me the current, most up-to-date email does not match the email I gave her.

She then asks me for the last four digits of the credit card mentioned in the email. I feel it’s safe enough to give her these numbers. She doesn’t ask me for a full 16-digit account numbers. Only the four. I give her the numbers. Again, she says, there is no match to any of my previous payment methods.

I calm down a bit. I’m getting the help I need.

My trust level in Netflix Help is improving.

It’s now at 0.5 out of 10.

The Netflix expert confirms my account’s been hacked

Ok. I decide to close the account completely. Shut it down. The expert confirms. That’s what we need to do.

I ask her to investigate who’s behind the hacking. The expert says, Netflix is making account security an absolute priority. I hope so, for their sake.

I feel sad for Netflix. On top of everything else, they now have hacking issues.

Bridgerton was a cool show to watch, and I would love to see the next season. But I’m now hesitant to ever again be a Netflix customer.

We conclude our conversation. The Netflix expert is telling me that she’s sending an email with all the Netflix Help Center information.

While I’m still on the phone, I receive the email at once.

Hi OLIVER, thanks for contacting Netflix…

My account is closed. We conclude our conversation. I give the Netflix Help Team a much better rating from where I started. They are doing a good job.

6 out of 10.

Oh Netflix, please improve your security

For the record, my name is Eva, that’s how I paid for your service.

In summary

Take account security seriously. Hackers are out there.

I have nothing against Netflix. I love Bridgerton. I hope there will be a new season.

I will, at some point in the distant future, reconnect with Netflix, but for now, I let it rest.

I hope that Oliver is just a kid who doesn't want to pay for Netflix subscriptions. But I don’t like my email getting used by third parties.

Hacking happens.

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