Police compare Britons who stream Sky TV illegally to organised criminals as officers raid homes and make arrests in clampdown
- Police have cracked down on an illegal streaming service selling Sky TV
- Police say Brits who use the pirate services are supporting ‘organised crime’
Police have warned people who illegally stream Sky TV that they are paying for ‘organised crime’ – a month after cracking down on a streaming service in a series of raids.
Police units raided homes in London, Stoke, Glasgow and Edinburgh in an effort to shut down a service allegedly selling Internet Protocol TV devices (IPTV) – which can be used to access pirate content such as illegal sports streams and films.
It’s thought the service had up to 50,000 users and police seized police seized computer equipment, laptops and mobile phones from all four locations.
Four people have since been arrested in connection with the raids with one charged with intellectual property theft.
Illegal streaming of sports and movie channels has been likened to organised crime
Sky worked with police forces during the crackdown
The other three people have been released pending investigation with ‘cease and desist’ notices sent to 200 people suspected to be involved in similar schemes.
Sky has been supportive of police action and has worked with the authorities to cut out the pirate streamers.
The companies package deals can be as exspensive as £80 a month – substantially less than the £10 offering of the pirate’s at the centre of the police raid.
Matt Hibbert, Director of Anti-Piracy at Sky, said: ‘We will continue to support these efforts to shut down these pirate networks and help protect customers.’
Detective Inspector Andy Maclean, of Police Scotland’s Cyber Investigation Department, said: ‘Anyone tempted to purchase one of these IPTV services should be aware that their money is going towards a fraudulent scheme, and they might well find themselves having a visit from police or other authorities.
‘Money from such activities are often used to fund other crime, so people need to be aware of that.
‘This is, without doubt, a form of organised crime.’
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