Subscribe to Netflix, Spotify, Deezer, or YouTube Premium from Turkey or Argentina using a VPN… This increasingly widespread online trick allows you to pay less for your subscriptions. Google has decided to wage war on it, to prevent fraudsters from not paying for YouTube Premium.
In France, a YouTube Premium subscription costs 12.99 euros per month. In Türkiye, you can get the same thing for… 1.50 euros per month.
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For several years, notably thanks to the help of forums dedicated to good deals, more and more fraudsters have been using a VPN or a Turkish Apple/Google account to subscribe to a service abroad, then use it normally in France, without ever being bothered. In India, Argentina, Pakistan or Turkey, it is not uncommon to find annual plans at a price lower than the French monthly plan, which inevitably creates temptation. Brands generally turn a blind eye to this practice, which nevertheless brings them subscribers.
After waging war on account sharing, will the platforms attack people who subscribe abroad to pay less? Google has started to notify people who subscribe to YouTube Premium from abroad that their subscription is suspended.
YouTube cancels suspicious subscriptions
As several users on Reddit reported it, YouTube sends an email to some of its YouTube Premium subscribers. The company tells them the end of their subscription, but does not go into details. Internet users quickly made the link with the accounts created abroad, since several people in this case received the same message.
Asked by TechcrunchGoogle confirms that the reason for these suspensions is VPN fraud. “In cases where the country of registration does not match the country where the user is accessing YouTube, we ask members to update their billing information based on their current country of residence” a company spokesperson told the American media.
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In other words, a Turkish YouTube account, if it is not used from a Turkish connection regularly, is now considered suspicious. The user can still continue to use their VPN regularly, but loses peace of mind. Until now, using a VPN was only necessary for registration.
On Reddit and Twitter, several users affected by the cancellation are not satisfied with Google's decision. Most of them indicate that they will not pay the full price and will encourage piracy. It remains to be seen whether they will comply with this decision or end up resuming a subscription.
Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, Deezer… Who will be the next to cut off fake Turkish accounts?
After YouTube, will other streaming services take on registration fraudsters?
Netflix and Spotify, to name a few, have a lot of fake Turkish subscribers. Both services could be tempted to act like Google, to maximize their turnover. The French Deezer, for example, already blocks French payment cards when you connect from another country, even if there are other ways to commit fraud. A system for comparing the registration IP address and the one used on a daily basis would be more effective
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