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Netflix free year: Is streaming service actually offering free subscription?

New ‘promo’ is doing the rounds

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 12 November 2020 12:48 GMT
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You might be wondering whether the offer of free Netflix for an entire year is real.

There is a supposed promo doing the rounds suggesting that a free year-long subscription with the streaming service is on offer, which many people are hoping is true.

Sadly, we’re here to tell you that the promo is a scam – and one that has been circulated several times over the past few years.

People have been alerted to the “offer” via phishing emails, which invites you to click on a link in order to claim your free year.

Do not click on these emails – you will not receive free Netflix.

It's worth noting that Netflix doesn't even offer a 30-day free trial anymore. The free trial offer stopped being available in October.

Perhaps it's off the back of this that the scam has reared its head yet again. 

There are actually a few variations of the same “promo” going around, one of which claims that the targeted person has been “selected from thousands”. It then asks these people to input their details to claim the offer, which is a scammer’s way of stealing your information.

If you're offered the chance to complete a survey for the chance to receive “Free Netflix for a Year”, delete the email or close the page immediately.

Some people are being targeted via their Google Calendars. 

To prevent this from happening, head to “Event Settings” and, in the drop-down menu for “Automatically Add Invitations”, click “No, only show invitations to which I have responded”. 

Netflix tells users how to detect scams on its site  (Netflix)

To keep things extra safe, ensure that you have unchecked the “Show declined events” box as this should put a stop to any spam events making its way to your inbox.

Netflix itself makes it very clear that it will never ask users to input any details via text or email, nor would it ask you to give payment details through any site other than its own.

Should you be a victim of this scam, change your password immediately and contact your bank to make sure no money has been stolen from you.

Additionally, if you forward the email to phishing@netflix.com, the streaming service will attempt to stop the scam going any further.

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