#86 Scamming Netflix for Free Trials

Netflix offers its members something beautiful – the opportunity to numb the brain one movie at a time all without having to make a trip to the video store. Not having to assemble an outdoors version of an unemployment suit because they can receive and return their videos via the mail, or instantly watch streaming videos, is a privilege unemployed people are eternally grateful for. And the way the unemployed show their gratitude for Netflix’s amazing service is to take advantage of as many free trials as they can before they’re finally forced to pay a monthly fee or worse, terminate their service and face the outside world for movies.

Netflix will occasionally offer new customers the opportunity to try out their service for a month rather than the typical two week trial offered everywhere you turn, and more annoyingly, when you close your web browser and find five Netflix pop-under ads that have been slowing down your computer. Whenever these month long trials are available, current Netflix members will attempt to cancel their memberships and hope Netflix will offer them a couple extra free weeks just to keep their membership. If that doesn’t happen, they begrudgingly relinquish their awesome queue and sign up again using another credit card and some sort of alias, hoping Netflix will still give them a free trial. When they get away with yet another month of free service, the Netflix scammer feels bold and knows that with their 50 credit cards, they can have free movies for life to enjoy in true unemployed glory. Occasionally they’ll even buy themselves those disposable debit cards using fake names and addresses (always the home address but with fake apartment numbers that will perplex the mailman but still result in delivered movies) just to prolong their free rentals scam. It’s something the unemployed are privately proud of but would never admit to their friends what lengths they’ll go to just  to receive a cheesy 80s robot movie in the mail.

Tags: desperate and unemployed, Netflix, stretching a dollar, unemployment shame