For a few days a sponsored post has been circulating on social networks looking for Italian beta testers for Disney+. Obviously, it’s a scam
Disney+ is the on-demand streaming service that the U.S. entertainment giant is preparing to launch in the United States on November 12, and then make it available in other countries starting in 2020. A serious alternative to Netflix, which will count on an endless catalog or almost: those who subscribe will be able to see all Disney and Pixar movies, National Geographic documentaries, TV series and movies from the Marvel Universe and all content related to the world of Star Wars.
All at a very competitive price: at launch, the subscription to Disney + will cost $ 6.99, which will become 6.99 euros per month (or 69.99 euros per year) in European countries. It’s logical that the service has quickly attracted the interest of thousands and thousands of curious viewers who are waiting to have access to such a wide range of programming at a reasonable price. And, just as logically, that there is someone ready to exploit this notoriety to organize online scams.
Disney+ in Italy, scam in progress
For a few days now, a sponsored post has been circulating on Facebook looking for “beta testers” of the Disney streaming service (which, needless to say, is totally unrelated to the story). In the post it is said that Disney is looking for Italian testers who, once registered, will get unlimited access to the entire catalog. An unmissable offer, which will surely have attracted the attentions of thousands of Italian users of the social network, who will have decided to click on the link and take advantage of an opportunity more unique than rare (the places, of course, are limited).
The “landing page” of the advertisement on Facebook (of which we do not publish the link not to give further visibility, but know that it is registered by a U.S. web hosting agency) is actually well done, but you immediately realize that something does not fit. The URL of the site contains a typo (an “a” in place of the “e” in the name of Disney), while the “advertising” message is written in an approximate and ungrammatical Italian.
Disney+ in Italy: how the scam works
If, despite all these “clues” you wanted to continue anyway, you would put at risk not only your personal data, but also your money. Clicking on the “Reserve a spot” button will take you to a second explanatory page, where you will read that access to the test area requires a payment of 2 dollars – a very low amount so that no one will abandon the “sign-up” process and continue with the procedure.
You will then be redirected to the payment page, where you will have to enter all your personal data, including your home address, phone number, email and, of course, your credit card information to make the payment. In one fell swoop, the creators of the scam would find themselves with a $2 credit and all our most important data, which they could reuse as they like on the Net.