Latest news with #illegalstreaming
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Dodgy streaming network CLOSED in major raid as piracy barons caught with £430,000 trove of gold, cash and Bitcoin
FIVE men suspected of being the masterminds behind a huge illegal streaming operation have been arrested in the latest police crackdown. The group are accused of reselling premium streaming services including Netflix on the cheap. 2 2 Illegal streaming has become a massive problem for organisations like Sky and the Premier League as cyber crooks look to cash in on viewers frustrated by bill rises. Nine properties were raided in June as part of a coordinated anti-piracy effort by police in Germany. More than 100 officers were involved, covering areas of Munich and Hamburg. Police obtained an entire "server landscape" thought to be used to host the illegal streaming "IPTV" service, as well as a large number of mobile phones, USB sticks, game consoles, and backups of extensive cloud data. They also confiscated cash, gold coins, and cryptocurrencies worth over £432,000 that are believed to be linked to the accused crimes. Five men were arrested, including three 25-year-old Germans, a 25-year-old Austrian, and a 27-year-old Azerbaijani. Three of the five were remanded in custody initially. But an arrest warrant for a 25-year-old from Munich has since been lifted as police failed to confirm strong suspicion based on preliminary analysis of the seized data, Zentralstelle Cybercrime Bayern said. However, one of the men faces more accusations, including inciting serious sexual abuse of children, producing child pornography and providing possession of child pornography. It comes months after a major illegal streaming site used by 22million to watch Sky Sports and more at a cut price was shut down with five UK properties raided. The joint police, Europol and Eurojust operation spanned several countries across Europe with more than one hundred houses searched. Closer to home, an illegal streaming kingpin who made £1million from three sites was jailed. Stephen Woodward, 36, splashed out on designer clothes and jewellery, expensive holidays and a Jaguar F-Type V8 coupe worth £91,000 from his ill-gotten gains. He ran three websites - IPTV Hosting, Helix Hosting and Black and White TV - with access to Sky Sports and 4,500 other premium channels for a small fee. Stephen was sentenced to three years and one month in jail on July 11. Warning over 'jailbroken' Fire Sticks Illegal streaming can be delivered by a number of devices by one of the most common are 'jailbroken' Fire Sticks, which means a third-party media server software has been installed on to it. The software most commonly used is called Kodi. It can grant users unrestricted access to new features and apps the normal version of the device wouldn't allow – but it is not legal to use in the UK. But it becomes illegal when a box is used to stream subscription channels for free. It is also illegal to buy or sell these modified devices which have become known as "fully-loaded" - a term that describes how the software has been altered to allow access to subscription-only channels. 'These devices are legal when used to watch legitimate, free to air, content,' the government said at the time. 'They become illegal once they are adapted to stream illicit content, for example TV programmes, films and subscription sports channels without paying the appropriate subscriptions.'
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Yahoo
What are the punishments for illegal streaming?
Sky customers who used illegal Fire Sticks to stream content have been warned they face being cut off if caught. Two people were arrested over allegations of illegal streaming following raids by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police earlier this month. A 30-year-old man is suspected of operating an illicit streaming service and a 32-year-old woman is accused of distributing copyrighted material and handling criminal property. The arrests were made as part of a clamp down on so-called 'dodgy' Amazon Fire Sticks, which are pre-loaded with premium content for sport, films and TV shows and accessed for free by users. Two residential properties in Oldbury and a data centre in Cheltenham were targeted in the recent raids. Matt Hibbert, group director of anti-piracy at Sky, said the company 'will continue to work alongside the police and industry partners to tackle piracy and disrupt the criminal networks behind it.' PIPCU said the arrests are a reminder that they 'will pursue criminals who seek to profit from illegal streaming and disrupt their operations.' What are the punishments for using illegal Fire Sticks? People who use Fire Sticks are technically committing fraud as they are using services without paying the rightful provider. Richard Meehan, senior associate of the commercial team at Myerson Solicitors, told Yahoo News UK that the law 'specifically makes it a criminal offence if you dishonestly receive a broadcast from a place in the UK with the intent to avoid payment of any charge'. Users may also face civil copyright infringement claims for watching unauthorised content. Meehan said 'there is no maximum level to the fine which can be imposed on an individual found guilty of the offence'. However, prosecution is rare for consumers and warnings or civil action, as seen in 2023 when the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) issued cease-and-desist letters to thousands of UK users, is more likely. Meehan explained that much of the enforcement is instead targeted at people selling the devices, as well as businesses showing illegal streams – such as football matched screened in pubs. However Meehan warned: 'individuals should not think that they are immune from prosecution.' What are the dangers of using illegal streaming devices? Using illegal streaming sticks comes with significant risks, particularly the threat of being hacked or scammed. These devices expose users to cybercriminals who exploit their lack of regulation. Malicious software embedded in these devices or their apps can steal personal data, such as bank details or login credentials, leaving users vulnerable to identity theft. These devices also often connect to servers that are prone to phishing scams that prompt users to enter payment details for 'subscriptions,' only to drain accounts or install ransomware. These sticks can also compromise home networks, allowing hackers to infiltrate other connected devices. According to data compiled by Crimestoppers, some five million users of illegal streaming sticks experienced fraud, a virus or data theft in 2024, while 2.8 million were hacked – up a third from the previous year. Another 1.5 million users had money stolen and 2.6 million had some sort of problem with their connected devices.
BreakingNews.ie
14-07-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Order blocking illegal streaming of Premier League football is extended
A court order requiring internet service providers to block illegal streaming of English Premier League football matches has been extended for another two seasons. The order was first made in 2019 following applications from the Football Association Premier League (FAPL) Ltd. Advertisement On Monday in the Commercial Court, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey agreed to an application from the FAPL to extend the order for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 football seasons. The order applies to Eircom trading as eir, Virgin Media Ireland, Sky Ireland/Sky Subscriber Services, and Vodafone to block the IP addresses of the illegal streamers. Sky supported the application while the other three companies, which also implement the blocking order, were neutral as to the application, the court heard. Johnathan Newman SC, for the FAPL, said, as in previous applications, the evidence from Sky showed the proportion of streams that are disrupted is very significant and the volume of material blocked is extremely high. The level of material which has to be blocked is "quite striking", counsel said. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said he was satisfied the order was reasonable and proportionate.
Irish Times
14-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Order blocking illegal streaming of Premiership football is extended by court
A court order requiring internet service providers to block illegal streaming of English Premier League football matches has been extended for another two seasons. The order was first made in 2019 following applications from the Football Association Premier League (FAPL) Ltd. On Monday in the Commercial Court, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey agreed to an application from the FAPL to extend the order for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 football seasons. The order applies to Eircom trading as eir, Virgin Media Ireland, Sky Ireland/Sky Subscriber Services and Vodafone to block the IP addresses of the illegal streamers. READ MORE Sky supported the application while the other three companies, which also implement the blocking order, were neutral as to the application, the court heard. Johnathan Newman SC, for the FAPL, said, as in previous applications, the evidence from Sky showed the proportion of streams that are disrupted is very significant and the volume of material blocked is extremely high. The level of material which has to be blocked is 'quite striking', counsel said. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said he was satisfied the order was reasonable and proportionate.
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Daily Mail
British streaming pirate who made £1million from illegal video sites and blew it on holidays and a £91k Jaguar sports car is jailed for three years
A British man who made £1million from illegal streaming sites before splurging it on extravagant holidays and a flashy £91,000 Jaguar coupe has been jailed for three years. Stephen Woodward, 36, from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, had been distributing copyrighted content through websites such as IPTV Hosting, Helix Hosting and Black and White TV. IPTV Hosting provided illegal access to more than 4,500 channels including Sky Sports and TNT Sports to end users and resellers for a fee, which Stephen racked up before indulging on designer clothes and jetting across the world. He also spent his down time driving around in a Jaguar F-Type V8, which is worth £91,000 and boasts a top speed of around 186mph. However, a major operation into Stephen's activity found subscriptions were paid for via card payments, 13 PayPal accounts owned by him and peer-to-peer payment services such as Circle. It was then discovered that the 36-year-old would exchange the money into cryptocurrency, convert it back to flat currency before depositing it across 23 bank accounts. This investigation led to police arresting Stephen and his brother Christopher Woodward, 34, who also received £126,000 from the sales of the illegal streaming sites. Following an investigation by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police, the brothers were sentenced at York Crown Court on July 11. Stephen was sentenced to three years and one month in prison after he pleaded guilty at the same court on February 21, 2025, to distributing articles infringing copyright and four money laundering offences. Christopher, also of Thirsk, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and must also complete 240 hours of unpaid work. He pleaded guilty at the same court on the same date to money laundering. Investigators additionally secured an all-assets restraint order against a total of £1.1 million held by Stephen. A further £144,121 worth of cash seized from Stephen during the investigation was also frozen. These funds, in addition to jewellery seized by officers from Stephen's address, will now be subject to confiscation proceedings. Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt, of City of London Police, said: 'Illegal streaming weakens the creative industries by diverting money away from legitimate businesses and into the hands of criminals like Stephen Woodward. 'Lost revenue as a result of illegal streaming means fewer jobs and less investment in future opportunities. It's estimated that this criminal activity contributes to over 80,000 job losses each year alone. 'Stephen was brazen in running his illegal steaming websites. Despite being the subject of a criminal investigation, he had clearly not learned his lesson and yet again attempted to gain financially from his illegal activity. 'His sentencing and upcoming confiscation proceedings should send a message that there are significant consequences for criminals who enable illegal access to copyrighted content.' Stephen was arrested in November 2019. During a search of his home officers seized a computer, a hard drive and nine phones, as well as £4,760 in cash found in a desk drawer in his living room. Around 100 envelopes, each containing a SIM card with a name written on it, were also seized. Stephen used the SIM cards to help open PayPal and bank accounts using false identities he had bought online. He was released under investigation while enquiries continued, before PIPCU analysis of his phone uncovered evidence to show that he had been in communication with various companies to assist with the running of IPTV Hosting. In his messages to Christopher, Stephen said that he was making £100,000 a month through illegal streaming. In 2020, while the investigation into IPTV Hosting was underway, officers were alerted by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) that Stephen had started running two further illegal streaming websites, Black and White TV and Helix Hosting. The websites provided illegal access to watch Premier League matches, as well as over 6,500 channels from around the world. Officers from PIPCU arrested Stephen for the second time and searched his home address in July 2020. He told officers that 'the cash is in the same place as last time', referring to the desk drawer in his living room, from which around £28,600 in cash was seized, before he was again released under investigation. In October 2022, Stephen was detained by Border Force officers at Gatwick whilst attempting to board a flight to Vancouver. Three bundles of cash, worth a total of £10,870, were seized from his luggage. The cash seized by BTP and Border Force officers was incorporated into PIPCU's investigation. The three websites run by Stephen are no longer in operation.
