As the highly anticipated last episodes of the final season of Stranger Things begins streaming on December 25 with The Finale on December 31, Kaspersky cybersecurity experts are alerting fans to a wave of scams designed to exploit their excitement. Fraudsters are offering downloads of the new episodes or posing as if they can provide free streaming access, tricking users into visiting websites that can harvest personal information, financial details, and login credentials. This may result in identity theft and unauthorized charges.
These scams typically begin with enticing offers for free or early access to the series. Victims who click the links may be immediately redirected to a malicious page or asked to “register for a free account,” which requires sensitive details like full name, date of birth, phone number, and bank card information. Users may end up with no content or charged a fee that they never intended to pay.
Adding to the deception, fraudsters have introduced a special tactic that requires users to “verify that you are human” before granting access to the stream. This step often mimics legitimate CAPTCHA challenges but is actually a phishing mechanism. The fake verification prompt may ask users to enter their login and password from other accounts (for instance, their email account) or to create a new account and input their bank card data to activate the free trial. The claim is that it is needed to prevent bots. Once credentials are entered, attackers capture them directly, allowing unauthorized access to the victim’s real accounts or funds.
“Our monitoring shows that scammers are ramping up their tactics around major releases like new seasons of popular TV series, blending familiar lures with other tricks. These ‘streaming’ sites often look identical to trusted platforms, but the goal remains the same – to exploit your fandom for profit. We strongly recommend sticking to official sources and scrutinizing any unexpected prompts as your security is more important than free entertainment,” says Olga Altukhova, Security Expert at Kaspersky.
To avoid falling victim to fraud, Kaspersky advises users to:
- Pay attention to the official movie release dates in movie theaters, on streaming services, TV, DVD, or other sources.
- Check the authenticity of websites before entering personal data and only use official webpages to watch or download movies. Double-check URL formats and company name spellings.
- Use a reliable security solution, such as Kaspersky Premium, that identifies malicious attachments and blocks phishing sites.
- Avoid links promising early viewings of content, and if you have any doubts about the authenticity of content check it with your entertainment provider.
