A fresh warning has just been issued to those streaming Sky TV or other premium services for free and it could mean some end up receiving a knock on the front door. UK Police say they recently raided homes across the country with a number of arrests made after the discovery of illegal Fire TV devices that were being sold with full unauthorised access to premium Sky packages.
Thousands of these pre-loaded TV Sticks are thought to have been sold netting those producing them over £800,000. Along with finding devices capable of streaming paid-for television, those taken into custody were also suspected of fraud, money laundering, and intellectual property offences.
The arrests took place in areas including Essex, Hertfordshire and Lanarkshire with police also confirming that a list of consumers who had purchased the Fire devices has also been uncovered.
Speaking about the latest operation, Detective Inspector Steve Payne, from ERSOU’s Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “Yesterday’s arrests form part of an investigation into a sophisticated large-scale criminal operation which has generated significant sums of money through the illicit sale of TV subscription packages.
“We have also gained access to the details of those purchasing the streams, and I would remind anyone doing so that they will be breaking the law and could ultimately be subject to criminal proceedings.”
As well as being illegal, police are also warning that users could end up putting themselves at risk of cyber crime along with devices around the home becoming infected with viruses and malware.
“We’re grateful to ERSOU and to the forces involved for taking this action, which will have a significant impact on the illicit sale of Sky TV,” said Matt Hibbert, Director of Anti-Piracy, UK and ROI, at Sky
“We’ll continue to support efforts to shut down the organised networks involved in the large-scale theft of our content, and to protect consumers from the risks involved in accessing content in this way. Anyone concerned about those risks can visit BeStreamWise.com for more information.”
This latest crackdown comes after police knocked on 1,000 UK doors earlier this year with officers issuing warnings to those thought to be breaking the law.
Those targeted were urged to cease illegal streaming activities with immediate effect or face criminal prosecution.
The police were also keen to point out that this wasn’t an idle threat with two UK residents already sentenced to a total of 16 months in prison for watching unauthorised streams.
