Forum Discussion

Valis's avatar
Valis
Channel Surfer
5 months ago

Concerned: Strange unfamiliar activity on Roku. Is it just me?

Hey, Thanks for reading.  For a couple months or so i've noticed odd activity on my roku devices.  i only use Roku via external devices (2, 4, express) connected to tv's. 

Most noticeable is odd things that i've never seen or wanted to see showing up in my "Continue Watching" list on the Roku Channel app.  I thought it was odd but chalked it up to some marketing thing and deleted the shows from my continue watching, however the strange, seemingly random shows and movies continue to pop up nearly daily.  Live channels, movies, tv shows, none of which i've ever watched.

I've also noticed new apps appearing out of nowhere.  Apps i've never watched nor want to watch or use.  Some kids channel, some sports channels, again seemingly random.  I removed the channels from my roku, changed my password and went so far as to add a PIN to my account, making it relevant for movies, tv shows, AND adding apps.  for a couple of weeks the activity subsided.

Now, as of yesterday, MORE odd things popped up in my Continue Watching, and then the App for Great Courses Plus was added without my knowledge or consent.  Investigating this i discovered that somehow i was signed up to a trial membership for Great Courses Plus.

ADDITIONALLY i discovered that the PIN that i had set was no longer active, i had set it to be used for rentals, purchases and apps but now it was set on do not use.

So, i've reset the pin to be used for everything, changed my email account password, removed the trial for great courses plus.  i've checked all the devices i'm signed into and removed any older ones that i haven't used in a while.  Yes, i have had 2MFA activated for years, which is why i've changed the email account password.

Question, to what end or why would someone compromise a roku account and watch tv shows and movies and add a channel trial, if that is what is happening?  And anyone else had this happen to them?  Thanks

1 Reply

  • atc98092's avatar
    atc98092
    Community Streaming Expert
    5 months ago

    While it's certainly possible your user account was hacked, someone would not be able to add another Roku to your user account without access to your email account as well. So anything appearing in the Resume Watching would have to come from your devices. The one possible exception is if someone could log into your account on a Roku app, which does permit viewing content on The Roku Channel, or logging into The Roku Channel on the web page, again using your account. 

    Since you found the PIN settings were changed, it does seem possible your account has been hacked. With the password changes you made, you should be OK again.

    Why would someone hack your user account? I can't really say, but it does sound like they were trying to use your account to access content and get you to pay for it. If you have a credit card attached to your Roku account, I suggest removing it as well.