Signs Your Streaming Accounts Have Been Hacked

As more people have shifted to using streaming services for shows, movies and music, keeping those accounts secure has become crucial to prevent them from being hacked. Some signs that point to your streaming account being hacked include being unable to log in to your account, unusual login attempt notifications and an upgraded account you didn’t authorize. 

Continue reading to learn five signs that point to your streaming account being hacked and what you should do if it is. 

Why Would Someone Want to Hack My Streaming Account?

Almost everyone has at least one streaming account they use to watch TV shows and movies or listen to music. You may be wondering why exactly someone would want to hack into your streaming account. There are two main reasons why: to use your streaming account as their own or to use it to gather your personal information. 

To use your streaming account as their own

Someone might not want to pay for their own streaming account so they’ll hack into someone else’s. This way they don’t have to pay any of their money for the service and can upgrade your account and even purchase add-ons for their personal preferences. This can lead to you paying more than what you should be paying. 

To gather your personal information

Streaming accounts contain sensitive data that someone could use to steal your identity. By just going through your streaming account’s settings, someone would be able to know your full name, email address, home address, date of birth and more. This can make it easier for them to hack into your other online accounts and steal your identity. 

5 Signs Your Streaming Account Has Been Hacked

Here are five signs that point to your streaming account being hacked. 

1. You’re unable to log in to your account

If you’re unable to log in to your account but you know you’re entering the correct credentials, it’s likely that someone has hacked your account and changed them. This is also known as an Account Takeover (ATO) attack. In an account takeover, cybercriminals crack your password and then immediately change your account’s password so you’re unable to log in and kick them out. Cybercriminals may even go as far as to change the email address to the account so you can’t reset the password. 

2. You’ve received an unusual login attempt notification

Some streaming accounts will send you email notifications for unusual login attempts. This is to alert you if someone is trying to hack into your account early on so you can act right away by changing your password. While an unusual login attempt notification doesn’t necessarily mean someone successfully hacked into your account, it does mean that someone may be trying to hack into it, so you need to take the necessary steps to protect your account. 

3. You notice shows, movies or music you haven’t watched or listened to

Another sign that someone has hacked into your streaming account is if you start noticing shows and movies you haven’t watched appear on your Hulu, Prime Video, Disney+ and other streaming service accounts. You may notice these shows under the “Continue Watching” category that appears. For streaming services like Spotify, you’ll notice that music falling under “Recently Played” isn’t music you listen to at all. 

4. Your account was upgraded

Some streaming services may require that you pay extra for certain services. For example, Hulu requires that users upgrade their account to be able to stream without ad interruptions. This account upgrade costs extra. If you notice that your streaming account has been upgraded without your knowledge and it wasn’t anyone you share your account with, you’ve likely been hacked. 

5. You’re being charged more from the streaming service

While streaming services automatically withdraw your monthly payment right from your credit or debit card, you must pay attention to the amount you normally pay. If you notice that the amount you’re paying has increased and you haven’t upgraded your account or added anyone to it, it’s possible that someone has hacked your account and is racking up additional charges. 

What To Do if Your Streaming Account Has Been Hacked

If you find out that one of your streaming accounts has been hacked, you need to immediately remove unknown devices from your account, change your password and enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). 

Remove unknown devices from your account

If you’re still able to log in to your streaming service account, the first thing you should do is go to your account settings and remove any unknown devices that don’t belong to you. This will log those devices out so they no longer have access to your account.  

Change your password

The next thing you should do is immediately change the password for your streaming service account to one that is strong and unique. We recommend using a password generator to create your password to ensure that it follows password best practices. If the old password or a version of that password is being reused for other online accounts, it’s crucial you also change the passwords for those accounts because they are now susceptible to being hacked as well.

Creating multiple strong passwords can be difficult and remembering them yourself is impossible, but a password manager can aid you in the process of quickly changing them while also securely storing them. 

Enable MFA

Enabling MFA is just as important as securing your online accounts with strong passwords. MFA adds extra layers of security to your online accounts by requiring that you authenticate your identity one or more additional times before you’re able to successfully log in. Not all MFA is the same, which is why if possible, you should avoid using email and SMS text codes as authentication methods. Instead, use authenticator apps or hardware security keys as methods of authentication to keep your accounts extremely secure. 

Keep a close eye on your online accounts

If someone was able to successfully hack into your streaming service account, they may be able to hack into your other online accounts as well. Keep a close eye on your online accounts for suspicious activity and unusual transactions. The sooner you notice suspicious activity, the sooner you can take proactive measures to protect yourself against it.

Don’t Let Your Streaming Accounts Get Hacked – Get Protected

A hacked streaming account shouldn’t be taken lightly. As soon as you notice signs that point to one of your accounts being hacked, you need to act immediately by removing unknown devices, changing your passwords to ones that are strong and enabling MFA for extra security.

Password managers are not only great tools for helping you create strong passwords for each of your online accounts, but they also make managing your streaming apps a lot easier. To see how a password manager like Keeper® can help protect your accounts from being hacked – start a free 30-day trial of Keeper Password Manager today.