Key word in messages investigators use to catch people using ‘dodgy’ fire sticks

Investigators who are part of crackdowns against 'dodgy' streaming devices have a keyword they search for in people's messages to see if anything is going on that needs looking at.

The illegal streaming market continues to see millions of people accessing platforms they haven't paid for to watch content they otherwise wouldn't be able to see, and a recent report indicates there are around four million Brits who watch content illegally.

Police investigations into illegal streaming have resulted in prison sentences for people caught selling dodgy devices like Fire Sticks that have certain apps loaded onto them.

The Daily Mail spoke to investigators who look into illegal streaming and revealed that when trawling through massive amounts of data, they can search for one keyword, which so often points them towards evidence, and that word is 'illegal'.

It seems a bit too obvious to be true, but that makes the job much quicker for them.

When suppliers get busted their computers can be searched (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

One of the investigators told the Mail: "You would be surprised by how many suspects message others with phrases like, 'this is illegal', or 'we need be careful as it’s illegal'."

When they seize computers for their investigation, there's often so much data to sift through that they couldn't look through everything, but by using a keyword search for 'illegal', they can find the messages which involve people talking about the bad stuff.

Messages can be linked to payments, servers, IP addresses and the like, while they sometimes even find customer databases which make it clear exactly what's been going on.

Kieron Sharp, chairman of The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), told Yahoo News it just 'isn't worth the risk' to be using a device like a dodgy Fire Stick.

He did say that most investigations were focused on the people providing the illegal streaming platforms, explaining: "We're very keen not to criminalise everybody and do not want to prosecute everybody."

It turns out searching the key word 'illegal' on seized computers turns up all sorts of things (Getty Stock Photo)

People who are identified as using illegal streaming are typically sent a warning letter first, though they could, in theory, end up with a 12-month prison sentence.

Having access to illegal streaming services means you're in violation of section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006, and in the most serious of cases, that prison time could be five years.

At present, there are no known cases of people being sent to prison for using a dodgy Fire Stick.

It's also getting more difficult from the other end as well, with Amazon updating its devices so they can block access to apps that have been flagged for piracy, meaning people only have the option to back out or uninstall them.

Previously, people could blow past the warning and use the apps anyway, but that's been changing, so now they can't get in.