Hacker issues warning to Brits illegally streaming using fire sticks or IPTV to watch football

Let’s be real, we all know someone who knows someone who uses some kind of dodgy stick or hack to watch the telly.

Of course, we all know it’s wrong – there’s a reason we say ‘dodgy’. But still, people are easily tempted to opt for illegal streaming or Internet Protocol television (IPTV) to watch stuff instead of splashing out on subscriptions.

But a crackdown on this is well underway with a popular app blocked for millions and the Premiere League issuing a ‘stark IPTV warning’ for football fans watching matches using IPTV.

And now, a hacker has also issued a warning to Brits illegally streaming using fire sticks or IPTV to watch the footie.

Professional Jenny Radcliffe claims the risks of doing so are huge, revealing anyone who illegally streams are putting themselves at risk of being slammed with viruses.

Rather sinisterly, these viruses can access people’s bank accounts or steal personal information.

"The perception that illegal streaming is a victimless crime is completely inaccurate," the hacker told LADbible TV.

"The sites that host these services are loaded with malicious links, back doors and tricks to access people’s digital and financial information, giving professional criminals an open invitation to steal from anyone who engages in these activities.”

She outlined that it could be anything from ‘multiple charges to credit cards’ and stealing your photos to going through your documents or ‘installing malware on devices’.

Getty Stock Images

“Engaging in illegal streaming makes you a prime target for professional fraudsters,” she added.

"And what is worse, because these activities are illegal, victims may have little or no recourse for recovering their losses and may even face criminal charges themselves.”

The Fraud Act 2006 states that it is illegal ‘to watch TV or streaming services without paying the required fee’.

And earlier this year, the crackdown on IPTV and illegal streaming saw the police make arrests of people selling illegal access to premium TV content including live Premier League matches via modified or ‘fully loaded’ smart TV devices or sticks such as an Amazon Fire Stick running IPTV.

Research from BeStreamWise echoes the hacker’s warning as it found one in three people who illegally stream have been a victim of fraud, scams, or identity theft as a result of using illicit means to watch premium content.

Detective Chief Inspector Emma Warbey, from PIPCU, said: “Illegal streaming is a huge issue for the industry and while it may seem like a low-risk, high-reward crime, the proceeds are used to fund other serious forms of criminal activity."

Topics: Crime, TV and Film, Technology

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_