Police warn of scammers posing as Netflix to steal your personal information

SOLON, Ohio -- Police are warning Netflix customers to stay vigilant and double check emails that appear to be sent from the popular streaming service before offering up any of their personal information.

Police in Solon, Ohio, recently shared a screenshot of a phishing email designed to steal the recipient's personal information. The email claims the user's account is on hold because Netflix is "having some trouble with your current billing information" and invites the user to click on a link to update their payment method.

The email was sent to a Solon police officer who said he doesn't actually have a Netflix account.

"Contact the source of the email by another method that you trust to make sure your accounts are maintained. Don't click the links. The links could also be a way to install malware on your computer," the police department warned.

Commenters on Facebook pointed out that the email, which could look legitimate at first glance, contained an international phone number and strange punctuation. It also was written with the salutation "Hi Dear."

On its support website, Netflix echoes the police department's advice: "Never enter your login or financial details after following a link in an email or text message. If you're unsure if you're visiting our legitimate Netflix website, type www.netflix.com directly into your web browser."

Anybody who receives a suspicious email or text message claiming to be from Netflix is asked to forward the message to phishing@netflix.com for further review by the company's security team.