If you’ve ever had a strange moment with your streaming account—maybe the language changed, your watchlist disappeared, and unfamiliar shows popped up—you’re not alone. Chances are, your account was quietly hijacked.
This growing issue, known as a Customer Account Takeover (ATO), often starts with something simple: a reused or weak password. Once compromised, your account could be resold online for just a few dollars. These “lifetime” account listings may look like deals—but they’re part of a thriving underground market.
Now imagine this happening not just to a few users—but thousands every day. That’s when a personal nuisance turns into a billion-dollar enterprise risk.
What You Don’t See: The Scale of Account Takeovers
According to cybersecurity firm Flare, customer account takeovers are hitting industries like gaming, streaming, SaaS, and e-commerce the hardest. Their latest study, The Account and Session Takeover Economy, shows over 100,000 newly exposed accounts popping up each month for major platforms.
The average exposure rate? About 1.4% of user accounts—on services with anywhere from 5 million to 300 million users. That’s a staggering number.
And the game is evolving. Instead of stealing passwords, attackers are now hijacking session cookies—tiny data packets that keep users logged in. These cookies are often stolen through infostealer malware, which slips through antivirus protection and scoops up credentials without setting off alarms. With these cookies, attackers can bypass even multi-factor authentication (MFA) entirely.
So, while you think your account is safe because you use MFA, an attacker might just be walking in through the back door.
The Real Cost of Customer Account Takeovers
Let’s break it down.
Imagine a streaming platform with 100 million users, each paying $120 per year. That’s $12 billion in annual revenue.
If only 0.5% of those accounts are compromised (less than half the industry average), that’s 500,000 users affected.
Now, if just 20% of those users cancel their subscription out of frustration, that’s $12 million in lost revenue.
Worst-case? If 73% leave—as Sift’s 2023 fraud report suggests they might—that’s $44 million gone. And that’s just from churn. Fraud-related chargebacks and operational costs push the losses even higher.
What’s worse? Many users blame the platform itself. Sift found that nearly 3 in 4 users believe companies—not the users—should be responsible for preventing account takeovers.
Why It Matters Beyond Streaming
The risk goes far beyond entertainment. E-commerce platforms risk fraudulent orders. Productivity tools face sensitive data leaks. Gaming accounts tied to credit cards can be drained. In every case, customers lose trust, and businesses lose money.
Yet, many companies are still playing catch-up.
How Companies Can Stop the Bleed
1. Track Infostealer Threats in Real Time
While ransomware grabs headlines, it’s infostealers that quietly do the damage. Flare reported a 26% year-over-year rise in exposures from malware that steals credentials and session cookies.
And according to Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, 88% of web app attacks stem from stolen credentials.
Organizations need visibility into this ecosystem. Tracking infostealer data in real-time helps companies spot which user accounts are compromised—before fraud hits.
2. Detect and Remediate Stolen Sessions
It’s not enough to detect leaks—you have to act. Integrating breach intelligence with identity and access tools can flag compromised users, especially those with valid sessions still active.
The key? Auto-remediation. That means logging out users, forcing secure password resets, and invalidating stolen tokens, before attackers exploit them.
3. Be Proactive—and Communicate Clearly
Yes, asking users to reset passwords or verify identity can hurt the user experience. But silence is worse.
Only 43% of ATO victims said they were notified by the company, according to Sift. If a customer discovers a compromise on their own, it damages trust—and increases the odds they’ll leave for good.
Reframing proactive security as a value-added feature helps. Customers want to feel safe. A simple email explaining why a reset is needed can go a long way.
Final Thoughts
Customer account takeovers are no longer rare incidents—they’re a constant, expensive threat. And while attackers get more sophisticated, most companies still treat ATOs as isolated help desk tickets.
To protect customers and revenue, businesses must move faster. Monitoring the infostealer ecosystem, integrating breach intelligence, and communicating clearly with users aren’t just best practices—they’re becoming business-critical.
If ignored, customer account takeovers can quietly cost your business millions—and your users’ trust.
