COPS and anti-fraud investigators have launched raids in more than a dozen areas in the UK in their bid to target “dodgy” Amazon Fire Sticks.
The risks of these “jailbroken” devices extend beyond fines and police visits and can even result in bank fraud.
“Dodgy” Amazon Fire Sticks are those that have been modified to access premium channels for free and have been quietly flooding homes across the UK.
They grant users access to content from Sky and the Premier League for a fee.
Amazon’s latest Fire Stick model is making life harder for TV pirates looking to illegally stream telly.
The newest Fire TV Stick came out just a few weeks ago – ahead of Amazon‘s global crackdown on piracy.
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Authorities, from the police and anti-piracy organisations to the broadcasters themselves, have been trying to stamp out the market with fines and home raids.
In the latest countermove, a supplier was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this year after selling an illegally modified Fire Stick to an undercover investigator.
It is worth noting both supplier and viewers face fines of up to £50,000 for using jailbroken Fire Sticks to stream Sky and Premier League content for free.
Beyond substantial fines, suppliers also face prison sentences of up to 10 years.
Viewers who tune into illegal streams may face less severe fines, however, they can still cost thousands.
The latest raids come after police foiled a dodgy Fire Stick-selling operation in January 2023 – and warned consumers that they had access to the details of those purchasing the streams.
Areas targeted recently include London, Sussex, Derbyshire, Norfolk and Merseyside.
It has also been reported that co-ordinated raids are being conducted in Scotland.
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 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.”
The full list of areas targeted in the latest raids
- London
- Kent
- Sussex
- Norfolk
- Northamptonshire
- Lincolnshire
- Derbyshire
- Staffordshire
- East and West Midlands
- Greater Manchester
- Cheshire
- Merseyside
- Northumbria
- North Yorkshire
- South Wales
- North East England
- North West England
