We tried to buy a hacked Malaysian Netflix account

Actually, the fact that Netflix just released a documentary called The Great Hack isn’t just ironic, but made our jobs alot more difficult, since it’s dominating search results for “Netflix hack“. Why are we searching for this? Cos complaints about Netflix accounts getting hacked are making their rounds on Twitter. In fact, one of our friends at AskLegal noticed that her account was being used in places she and any of her folks haven’t been to.

Just like our AskLegal peep, the hacked Netflix users found that the hackers are located in Malaysia. If you’ve noticed a lot of Netflix accounts being sold online for as low as RM5, you’re actually looking at the hacked Netflix accounts that are being tweeted about.

Honestly guys, for RM51, you can watch on 4 screens at the same time, and not be a douchebag. Do the math la. This is why you’d see some people urging others not to use these accounts (and also DISCOURAGING PEOPLE FROM DOING THE SAME) but instead register for your own Netflix account and share the cost with your family or friends.

EVERYONE PAY ATTENTION. This is not for his rezeki. Kalau tak dapat afford bayar Netflix sebulan, baik tak payah. Or better yet, look for people to share account with you, and start paying on your own. Jgn nak freeloader account orang lain. Terima Kasih pic.twitter.com/LijTSlHDkN

— ᴀᴀɪʀᴀ ᴊᴀʜᴀɴᴢᴀɪʟ (@dixnxaaira) July 25, 2019

So we decided to contact a Netflix hacker and see if we were missing something

This problem is nothing new as similar incidents trace to as far back as 2015. Here’s how Netflix Malaysia responded.

“We are aware of this incident and are investigating.” – a Netflix spokesperson told CILISOS.

These hackers are possibly at risk of paying RM100,000 and/or spending 7 years behind bars, and the cost difference isn’t exactly that much. We wanted to find out more about how it works, so we contacted one of the sellers of these hacked Netflix accounts while posing as a [busybody] potential customer. But we had very little success in getting the seller to spill the tea about how the RM10 accounts were obtained.

But one thing seems clear from this conversation: This seller is making money from providing accounts with login details, which most likely confirms the whole selling hacked accounts thing.

And this seller is just one of the many sellers that appear in your Facebook, Instagram, Carousell etc search results! Just look at how easy it is to search.

But wait… with this amount of hackers… will MALAYSIA NETFLIX GET BLACKLISTED!?!?!?

Malaysian Netflixians: Chill. This isn’t just a Malaysian problem

We know some Malaysians fear that they’ll get banned from using Netflix because of this.

https://twitter.com/chiccbi/status/1154611631562690560

But don’t worry… That’s not gonna happen. In fact, the recent revelations is just part of a wider problem that’s been happening worldwide. As one example, a guy in India recounted his experience of detecting user activities from Ecuador and Thailand, and noticing some changes made to his account details.

“I discovered I was dealing with a case of Suits addiction. The user probably had an Android phone as well. With similar IP addresses, was also downloading season after season of Suits on an Android phone.

Here I was, paying Netflix in India to be able to consume high quality video, while some ingenuous and crafty individual sat back, relaxed and enjoyed Suits with salsa!” – Nash David, the Indian customer, wrote.

Oh, and this isn’t just limited to Netflix… The hacking of our Sosboss’ Spotify account by ‘fredericos iphone’ in 2016 is a testament to how this problem can happen on other platforms as well. Spotify’s guide for those experiencing the same issue might seem pretty similar to that of Netflix (being SIGN OUT EVERYWHERE).

So how do I un-hack my Netflix?

There are many ways hackers can get someone’s legit account, one being to try logging into legit accounts using username and password combos obtained from data breaches. According to Business Insider, if you wanna know whether your personal data has been leaked online, you can check using Have I Been Pwned (but we don’t know how reliable it is, so check at your own risk).

Another way hackers can steal your login info is through phishing scams, to trick the user into giving such info on a page that looks real from a link in an email, a popup or any online source (wait – doesn’t that sound like how Have I Been Pwned works?).

If you’re one of the lucky ones who hasn’t been hacked and wanna stay that way, Netflix details ways to secure your account here. But for the unfortunate ones like our AskLegal pal who have ALREADY been hacked, Netflix has a pretty simple solution for you

“If you suspect someone has used your Netflix account without your permission, check your account for signs of unauthorised activity – such as recent viewing activity or device streaming activity.

Customers can contact Netflix by calling us from the Netflix app, from any phone, or via live chat.” – the Netflix spokesperson told CILISOS.

Netflix also advises users to change Netflix passwords to make it harder for others to sneak into your accounts and SIGN OUT OF ALL DEVICES connected to said accounts to disconnect any unauthorised devices. Our AskLegal friend has already done that, and two days so far so good!

For this article, we also approached MCMC, but MCMC still needs a little more time to get back to us, so if it does, we’ll update you guys about it. Until they do, rest assured that there are no plans to blacklist Malaysia, and if indeed you do get hacked, the solution is pretty simple. So in other words…