Are you scratching your head trying to figure out why Netflix is asking if you want to continue watching Army Wives, a show you're positive that neither you, nor the several friends/exes/parents you share your password with, would ever watch?
As Slate points out, some new research by the cybersecurity company Symantec might have an answer for you: there's a huge black market for Netflix login information, which means that for all you know some guy in Utah you've never met was the one who has been binging Season 3 of Quantum Leap from your account.
According to their research, Symantec says that some of the sellers claim to have as many as 300,000 Netflix accounts in stock, and they're selling access for as little as 25 cents (a serious bargain now that Netflix is $9.99 for a two-viewer account). They're even guaranteeing that the login will work for at least seven days.
Another black market seller was offering different packages, such as one week for $10, one month for $20, or lifetime access for $30.
The scammers obtain the account logins through a variety of methods, Symantec said, including malware and through phishing campaigns where people are directed to a fake Netflix site and asked for their password.
