Featured Image Credit: Getty / LADbible
Topics: Premier League, Football
Ryan Smart
An expert hacker has sent a strong warning to fans who illegally stream the Premier League using IPTV and Amazon Fire Sticks.
With the subscription costs for the likes of Sky Sports and TNT Sports rising, fans have been turning to alternative methods to watch Premier League football.
One of those is via Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), which allows fans to illegally stream live football through broadband services.
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Key broadcasters and the Premier League itself have teamed up with police forces and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) to target those who set up, distribute and sell IPTV services and Amazon Fire Sticks with the intention of breaching copyright laws.
A number of criminal convictions have been secured, with one man recently handed a four-year jail sentence after being found guilty of a range of charges, including participating in a fraudulent business, possessing articles for use in fraud and converting criminal property, between 2016 and 2020.
Italy's Serie A, meanwhile, have gone one step further in their battle against illegal streaming, with the league's chief executive stating earlier this month that automatic fines of €5,000 will be imposed on 'every illegal use of video content'.
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Prior to the beginning of the 2024/25 Premier League season, an expert hacker sent a warning directly to fans who stream illegal content.
Jenny Radcliffe, a professional hacker, said: "The perception that illegal streaming is a victimless crime is completely inaccurate.
"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.
"Whether it's multiple charges to credit cards, installing malware on devices, accessing bank accounts, or stealing personal information such as emails, messages, contacts, photographs, documents and browsing history, engaging in illegal streaming makes you a prime target for professional fraudsters.
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"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."