SUSPECTED cyber crooks behind an illegal streaming site have been arrested in the latest piracy crackdown.
An office building was raided by police who seized evidence believed to be linked to the huge operation.
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The site, IPTV66, boasted more than 4,000 channels including premium content such as Premier League sport all for less than £2.50.
Police across the globe have been ramping up efforts to tackle spiralling broadcast piracy, which costs industries hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
Users looking to illegally get around Sky fees to watch sport and more have been repeatedly warned they face serious consequences too – particularly devastating fraud as online criminals make an attempt on their bank account when signing up.
This latest raid took place in the Dominican Republic.
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Anti piracy experts believe those behind IPTV66 made an estimated $10million in cryptocurrency over the course of four years.
They say some of their illicit gains were used to buy up real estate.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic seized evidence from a 10 floor high office building in Santo Domingo, which is solely occupied by the suspects, as well as a large ranch outside the city.
Given the extent of IPTV66’s illegal service, its operators may face liability beyond copyright infringement, according to the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) who triggered an investigation into the site.
“This case is a testament to the power of strategic partnerships with local and global law enforcement in detecting, deterring and dismantling digital piracy,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer for the Motion Picture Association (MPA).
“I commend our partners with the HSI, FBI, DEA and all of the law enforcement authorities of the Dominican Republic for their commitment to protecting copyright and ensuring bad actors face consequences for their crimes.”
The move comes just weeks after the world’s biggest streaming network Streameast – visited 1.6 billion times – was shut down.
It was especially popular for watching the Premier League, as well as other European competitions such as Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, France’s Ligue 1 and Portugal’s Primeira Liga.
The operation was brought down by authorities in Egypt.
And there’s been big action against operators here in the UK too.
A Brit who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle running three illegal streaming sites was jailed for more than three years in July.
Stephen Woodward, 36, splashed out on designer clothes and jewellery, expensive holidays and a Jaguar F-Type V8 coupe worth £91,000 from his ill-gotten gains.
The three sites he ran included IPTV Hosting, Helix Hosting and Black and White TV, which have all since been closed down.
Kieron Sharp, chairman of the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) in the UK, has previously warned that users watching illegal streams through modified devices like a “dodgy Fire Stick” not only put themselves at risk of fraud but are also committing a crime.
“There’s a real risk of having your identity stolen or similar,” he said.
“If you give over your credit card details, you are giving them to criminals.
“They could get access to the camera on your TV, if it has one, or microphone.
“There is no safety or security with what you are getting with these modified devices.”
ILLEGAL STREAMERS INSTANTLY ACCESSED MY ACCOUNT
The risks of illegal streaming to your online life can also be pretty devastating.
Fraud is the biggest immediate danger to you.
We’ve heard from users who chanced it and had their bank account instantly accessed.
A 46-year-old Brit – who has asked to remain anonymous – was referred to a cheap streaming site which gives users access to premium channels including Sky Sports.
But shortly after entering his bank details a surge of transactions were attempted on his account totalling several thousand pounds.
“A couple of friends had already done it and they had no issues,” he revealed to The Sun.
“It all seemed quite secure, so I didn’t even think at the time.
“After that, the payment was taken but there were all sorts of transactions on my bank account for quite a large amount of money which were on various times and various dates for different amounts.
“It’s scary really, they attempted thousands.”
Image credit: Alamy
