03/17/2024
Check your Roku accounts!
Roku users, make sure to secure your accounts! Hackers recently targeted over 15,000 users of the TV streaming platform to buy unauthorized subscriptions.
On Friday, Roku notified authorities in California and Maine about the data breach, which impacted 15,363 US residents. The hackers targeted the service’s users from Dec. 28, 2023, to Feb. 21, 2024. According to the company’s data breach notice, the cybercriminals likely hijacked the Roku accounts by using login/password combinations leaked from previous hacks at third-party services. “After gaining access, they then changed the Roku login information for the affected individual Roku accounts, and, in a limited number of cases, attempted to purchase streaming subscriptions,” the company said.
According to news outlet BleepingComputer, it’s likely the hackers were taking over the accounts with the goal of selling access to them for sums of money as small as $0.50. Those who bought in could then make fraudulent purchases with the accounts, including Roku streaming devices and peripherals. Roku has since identified the affected accounts, reset their passwords, and canceled the purchased streaming subscriptions, if any were made. They’ve also issued refunds for unwanted purchases.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/hackers-hijack-roku-accounts-to-buy-streaming-subscriptions-devices