Ursula Coyote for Netflix Hackers could be selling lifetime access to your Netflix subscription for just $0.50. 
 
 A recent report by McAfee Labs revealed you can buy access to "many online streaming entertainment" services, like Netflix and Spotify, in Dark Web marketplaces. These marketplaces can be accessed only by using a special internet browser called TOR that hides your IP address. 
 
 According to McAfee Labs, stolen HBO NOW and HBO GO accounts, as well as other cable streaming services, can be bought for less than $10. Premium pro sports services will run you about $15. 
 
 Do the accounts work? 
 
 You might assume that if you buy access to someone else's Netflix account, it will get shut down fairly quickly, but this is not necessarily the case. 
 
 Raj Samani, the CTO of Intel Security, told Tech Insider that these marketplaces are highly competitive for sellers, and some provide a "guarantee" you'll have a lifetime subscription. 
 
 "I don't want to call it a risk-free transaction but they try to make it as risk-free as they possibly can," Samani told Tech Insider. He says one marketplace actually has its own help desk. 
 
 Samani says these accounts are probably based on both stolen credit-card and account information. 
 
 When Tech Insider's Tim Stenovec checked the prices for himself, he found Netflix accounts going for $0.50 for lifetime access and Spotify for $1.95. 
 
 Here is a sample listing for a Netflix account: ||||| REUTERS / Samantha Sais When you think of marketplaces on the so-called "Dark Web," that place on the internet that you can only access with special browsers that anonymize your IP address, you probably think of sites that sell drugs, weapons, and other illicit products and services. 
 
 But it's also full of cheap subscriptions to some of the most popular legitimate streaming video and music services, like Netflix, Spotify, and HBO. 
 
 "We found pretty much everything possible available for sale," Raj Samani, the vice president and CTO at Intel Security, who last month wrote a report on the Dark Web, told Tech Insider in an interview. "Every possible service and every possible flavor you could think of was being made for sale." 
 
 Indeed, a recent visit to one of these marketplace on the Dark Web by Tech Insider found that he could easily buy lifetime subscriptions to Spotify and Netflix for a fraction of the price of a monthly subscription. 
 
 What's remarkable about this is that buying legitimate subscriptions to these services is both easy and relatively inexpensive, yet a marketplace still exists for these. 
 
 A lifetime subscription to Spotify is only $1.95. Screenshot/Tech Insider Samani said that these accounts are likely based on both stolen credit card data as well as stolen account information. 
 
 Here's a lifetime subscription to Netflix for just $0.50: 
 
 Screenshot/Tech Insider It's highly competitive for these sellers, and many are somehow able to guarantee that you'll have lifetime access to these services, even if there are issues with that original account you buy. That is, the sellers say they'll give you working account information if the account credentials you buy are shut down. 
 
 "It's remarkable," Samani said. This marketplace "actually has its own help desk." 
 
 "I don't want to call it a risk-free transaction but they try to make it as risk free as they possibly can," he said. 
 
 As Samani outlined in his report last month, having one of your own accounts end up on a Dark Web marketplace could be a huge headache. The account could be closed because of malicious activity, and you may have to endure hours on the phone with technical support. 
 
 That's why it's important to keep your own data safe. Use unique, strong passwords for all of your services, and use two-factor authentication whenever possible. Two-factor authentications requires people to have a second form of credentials, like a code from a text message, when they login to an account. 
 
 In this outtake from our Codebreaker podcast, former US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff tells host Ben Johnson what scares him about the dark web: 
 
 The Dark Web: Is it evil? Listen to the whole episode to find out. 
 
 Samani also recommends taking proactive steps, like using a credit monitoring service, to stay vigilant. 
 
 "Just be really conscious about who you're sharing your data with," he said. 
 
 The Dark Web is the subject of the latest episode of Marketplace and Tech Insider's new Codebreaker podcast. You can listen to it here and subscribe to all the episodes in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. ||||| Having accumulated downloads in excess of 50+ million, the Vietnamese “Flappy Bird” developer removed his app from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store on Monday. Now, unless you already have Flappy Bird installed on your iPhone or iPad, it’s impossible to download the game. 
 
 Since then, I’ve personally seen hundreds (if not thousands) of iPhone’s and iPad’s for sale on eBay claiming to have the rare Flappy Bird game pre-installed. These have been selling for some truly extortionate prices (take a look at this one, for example) and with hundreds of tech/news sites reporting on the phenomenon, even more people are considering “getting in on the act”. 
 
 If you’re reading this post, you might be one of them; and well, why not? If you can sell your existing iPhone/iPad for $10,000 – $100,000 to some “Flappy-Bird-crazed-multi-millionaire” on eBay, you can just buy a brand new one for $650 and pocket the remaining cash, right? 
 
 As with most things that seem too good to be true, I’m here to tell you that this “Flappy Bird gold mine” isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. Here’s why you should think twice before listing your iPhone/iPad with Flappy Bird on eBay: 
 
 Your Flappy Bird Game is Connected to your Apple ID (and your Apple ID is connected to, well…everything!) 
 
 Typically, when you sell your iPad or iPhone on eBay, you’ll make sure to restore the device to factory settings before shipping it. This removes all content from the device and all content associated with your Apple ID (this includes your personal contacts, calendars, music, iCloud settings, iMessages and so forth). 
 
 Herein lies the problem. Restoring your iPad/iPhone will also remove every app from your device, including Flappy Bird. As Flappy Bird is no longer available to download from the App Store, you won’t be able to re-download the app before selling your device. 
 
 Therefore, if you want to sell your iPhone/iPad with Flappy Bird installed, the only option is to ship your device to the new owner (who happens to be a total stranger from eBay) with your Apple ID still attached. So, essentially, you’re selling your Apple ID along with the device. But what’s the problem? 
 
 You’re at risk of having your Apple ID (and iTunes Account) hacked 
 
 Privacy is the biggest concern here, especially considering the fact that you use your Apple ID to authorise purchases from both the App Store and iTunes Store. Sure, you don’t have to give the buyer your Apple ID password and in theory, this will prevent him/her from making purchases using your Apple ID, but by no means is this a foolproof method. 
 
 If you’re selling an iPhone 5S, you’re particularly vulnerable as the new owner of your iPhone could access your Apple ID using the following hack/workaround: 
 
 When you sell your iPhone 5S (with Flappy Bird installed), you’ll probably have to tell the new owner the four digit passcode used to unlock the phone (as their fingerprint won’t work, obviously). Once the new buyer has this passcode, they’ll then be able to add their own fingerprint data to Touch ID via the iPhone’s Touch ID settings menu. 
 
 Once they’ve done this, they’ll effectively be able to use their fingerprint to authorise purchases using YOUR Apple ID (as demonstrated in the image above). Who knows what sort of a bill they might rack up if they manage to do this!? 
 
 Note: You can prevent this tactic by switching your iPhone off before you ship it. This will ensure that purchases can only be made using your Apple ID password (and not Touch ID) when the iPhone is switched back on. 
 
 If you do insist of selling your iPad/iPhone with Flappy Bird and your Apple ID attached (I truly don’t recommend that you do!), make sure to remove your credit/debit card information from your Apple account. You can do this through iTunes. 
 
 You should also sign out of your Apple ID in “Settings > iTunes & App Store” and turn off all automatic downloads. 
 
 I’d also recommend that you change any other personal details associated with your Apple account/ID. Your Apple ID will probably give the new owner of your iDevice access to your full name, email address, physical address, phone number, password and security questions. 
 
 You can change all of these at appleid.apple.com. 
 
 Your Apple ID is connected to iCloud (which stores a tonne of highly personal information!) 
 
 A couple of months ago, I experienced a problem with my iPad and following a quick visit to the local Apple Store, I was given a brand new iPad. Instead of setting the device up as a new iPad, I restored the device from an iCloud backup (backed up from my previous problematic iPad). 
 
 Within 20 minutes-or-so, all of my apps, contacts, notes, iMessages, calendar events, photos (from Photo Stream) , mail accounts, reminders and even Safari data had been completely restored and everything was exactly as I had left it on my old iPad. 
 
 To do this, all I needed was my Apple ID and password (also used for iCloud). 
 
 As you can see, if the new owner of your iPad or iPhone somehow gets access to your Apple ID and password (perhaps using the hack described above for the iPhone 5S), they’ll be able to see all of this personal information including your contacts, emails and your browsing history (not that I’m suggesting there’s anything remotely sinister in there, it’s just nice to keep it private). 
 
 If you do insist on trying to sell your iPad/iPhone on eBay (once again, I don’t recommend it!), make sure to delete your iCloud account from your device before shipping it. You can do this in “Settings > iCloud > Delete Account” as pictured above. 
 
 If you don’t do this, your iPad or iPhone will continue to sync your contacts, emails, notes and other personal information. Even if you flick the switches and turn iCloud features off, the new owner of your iDevice can always turn them back on without the need for any password. 
 
 You should also make sure to remove any email addresses in the iMessage settings. If you fail to do this, iMessages will continue to be delivered to your iPhone or iPad and you’re at risk of the new owner reading them. 
 
 You can do this by navigating to “Settings > Messages > Send & Receive”. Simply click the “i” next to each email address and select “Remove This Email”. You should also make sure to do this in the FaceTime settings. 
 
 Most of the eBay listings are fakes/scams 
 
 Even if it was as simple as listing your iPhone/iPad for an extortionate sum of money on eBay and watching the bids roll in, chances are that most of the bids you received on your item would be fake. 
 
 The screenshot above shows a completed listing on eBay.com for an Apple iPhone 5S (32GB) and as you can see, it sold for $9,199.99 (i.e. the “Buy It Now” price). I’ve blurred out the seller ID for privacy reasons but having investigated the sellers feedback profile, I can tell you that he/she has a 100% positive feedback score from a total of almost 200 feedback. Plus, around 44% of the sellers feedback comes from items sold (as opposed to items bought). 
 
 The conclusion: it’s highly likely that the seller of the iPhone is a legitimate seller. He/she probably saw the recent influx of iPhone/iPad listings with Flappy Bird pre-installed and thought “hey, I can make some money from my phone here”. 
 
 You might have thought this too. 
 
 The bid history screenshot above shows that the item had a total of nine bids. The highest bid before the buyout at the “Buy It Now” price was a mere $299 – certainly nothing special for a 32GB iPhone 5S. 
 
 Looking more closely, you can see that seven of the nine bids (including the “Buy it Now” buyout) came from accounts with zero feedback. Typically, bids from these sort of accounts are fake bids and more often than not, you’ll never receive payment from the buyer. It looks as though the highest legitimate bid on this particular iPhone was only $200. 
 
 What’s the Scam? 
 
 You might ask: “what’s the point of these fake bids?”. I mean, if you sell your iPhone with Flappy Birds and never receive the payment, it’s unlikely that you’re ever going to ship the phone, isn’t it? 
 
 Most fake bidders know this and they have a number of tactics to scam you. 
 
 Firstly, they might simply hope that you ship the phone without checking whether or not the PayPal payment has been made. Often, when you receive
– Digital moochers are using Netflix and HBO Go accounts that don't belong to them without even having the decency to suck up to their family and friends to do so. Business Insider reports hackers are selling accounts to digital streaming services—everything from Netflix to Spotify to Marvel Unlimited—for mere cents on the Dark Web, that shady region of the Internet accessed via the TOR browser. "Every possible service and every possible flavor you could think of was being made for sale," Raj Samani at Intel Security tells Tech Insider. According to McAfee, some Netflix accounts were being sold for as low as 50 cents, while accounts for premium sports streaming services top the list at $15. Not only are these prices incredibly low, but many sellers are offering a lifetime guarantee, Tech Insider reports. That means if the account you bought for a buck gets shut down, the seller will simply give you another one. According to McAfee, this illicit marketplace isn't just bad news for the streaming services themselves; it can have repercussions for the actual account holders, too. Your account could be closed because of something the Dark Web buyer does, or the buyer could make purchases using your stored credit card information. Plus you don't want some jabroni screwing up your Netflix recommendations. Tech Insider recommends protecting accounts from interested buyers by using strong passwords and "two-factor" authentication. (This girl will sell you a nearly unbreakable password for $2.)