Over the past year, Disney+ subscribers have been increasingly targeted in phishing attacks. There are a few variations of these attacks making the rounds, but this post will cover the most recent iteration, that has been sent to a large number of both Disney+ subscribers and non-subscribers. Let’s take a look at how this plays out. 

• Individuals receive what appears to be an auto-generated email from Disney informing them of a pending charge.
• Attached to the email will be a PDF invoice that looks surprisingly legitimate with a logo, customers name, invoice number, and customer support information.
• The invoice shows a pending $49.99 charge (that fraudulent amount may change), despite the current Disney+ subscription rate of $13.99 per month.
• Upon seeing this pending charge, the scammers are counting on the individuals to call the customer support number listed on the invoice to dispute the charge.
• Once you call the customer support number, the scammer posing as a representative will generally ask you for one of two things:
  • Financial account information, either a bank account or credit card number to stop payment or refund the charge.
  • Download a new piece of software or a software update to stop the charge and/or prevent this from happening again.
• Whether they are given the account information or they convince you to download the malicious software, they have accomplished their goal.

This is a very specific phishing scam, but the majority play out in a very similar fashion. If you receive a suspicious email that you believe may be a phish, always verify the information through another means. Do not use the phone numbers or email addresses provided in the email itself. A good practice is to go to the official webpage of the company where the email is claiming to be from, and verify the information by contacting customer support using the information found on that page.