WhatsApp warnings are being sent to those using an IPTV service that authorities have recently targeted in their latest piracy crackdown.
In a week where one of the world's biggest streaming services said it hopes to soon prosecute people for watching illegal streams, it has been revealed that thousands of people using an illicit IPTV streaming service have been contacted after authorities busted it wide opened.
Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN has among the leading voices in targeting illegal streaming in Europe, leading the way alongside the likes of the state of the art Piracy Shield system.
A growing number of people are using the likes of IPTV, or Internet Protocol television, to illegally stream the films, TV shows, and live sporting events they have an interest in.
The problem with this is that it's usually against the law, given that the vast majority of new releases or live events require subscription fees via their copyright holder.
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We're talking paying for Amazon Prime Video to watch The Boys or subscribing to Sky Sports and TNT Sports for the latest Premier League fixtures.
What IPTV subscriptions do is offer a bumper package of content - we're talking thousands of shows and films, and hundreds of live TV channels - but at a discount price. Sometimes all of it can be got for a tenner a month; something police have shown sympathy over.
Now, according to TorrentFreak, BREIN has been involved in the shutdown of a piracy website known as IPTVpremium. It sold subs to people across the world, including the UK, with a tonne of premium content for just €70 (£59) a year. That's less than a fiver a month.
Issuing the operator with a cease and desist, the individual behind it complied. He ended up paying an undisclosed fine and €7,500 (£6,300) a day if he carries out any future violations of copyright.
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"Purchasing a set-top box with an illegal IPTV subscription is comparable to fencing," Bastiaan van Ramshorst, BREIN director, said.
"Every time the user turns on the box and starts watching a movie or TV series, they engage in copyright infringement and act unlawfully."
And on top of that, BREIN made IPTVpremium agree to messaging every one of its subscribers via WhatsApp (if they had signed up with their phone number).
The message, which was sent in Dutch, translates in to English as: "You have an IPTV package subscription with us that provides access to evidently illegally offered television channels, movies and series.
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"It is established in case law that the sales of these types of IPTV packages is not allowed, and that you, the customer, violate copyright law each time you use it.
"For this reason we have been summoned by BREIN to stop the sales of these illegal IPTV Packages immediately and to inform you about it."
There's no immediate indication that users are going to be targeted further for their role in the piracy set up.
But with news elsewhere showing that copyright holders are looking to prosecute those who use IPTV services, you'd imagine it might - when viewed as a whole package - serve as a deterrent to subscribe to another illicit outlet.
Topics: WhatsApp, Phones, Technology, Crime, World News, UK News, Europe, TV, TV and Film, Film
Tom Earnshaw