If you subscribe to a streaming service, it is possible your account could be getting used by other people. Selling login details for services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and Sling TV is a big business. According to recent reports, stolen login details are up for sale for as cheap as $8.81.
So how common is this? It happened to Cord Cutters News just this week. I have had the same Hulu account since 2009 and confess I have not changed the password and had a weak password on the account. This weekend when I logged into Hulu, I found a message saying I was not at my home network. When I reset the location to my house I found a ton of shows saved that I didn’t watch.
After changing my password, I found a long list of devices that I didn’t own logged into my Hulu account. So, what happened? The password I used for Hulu since 2009 was the same junk password I used for years when I needed to create a junk account. (I typically used the Facebook login, so I never thought about the old password there.)
Although Hulu was not hacked, it was very likely that one of the smaller sites I used was. Because the password and email address were the same, my Hulu account was sold on the black market to multiple people.
Fixing this was easy. I changed my password and removed all devices from the linked device menu list.
Someone may be using your account and you don’t even know.
When these accounts are sold they tell people to not change passwords, add anything to favorites, or create a profile. Thankfully the person who bought my account didn’t listen to them, which alerted me to the fact that someone was using my account.
So, how can you find out if someone is using your account?
The easiest way to see if people are using your account is to check your connected devices. Services like Hulu let you see all the linked devices to your account. There, you can remove them if you don’t know that device. If you find devices you do not own linked, you will not only want to remove them but also change your password. (They can always just log back in.) You can find out how to do this on Hulu HERE.
Important Note
It is crucial to use a different password for your bank as you use on random sites. Although your bank may not be compromised, a small site could be.
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