Viewers using hacked Fire Sticks have ‘no fear of being caught’

I think the police are fighting a losing battle against the spread of ‘cracked’ Amazon Fire Sticks (‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 680, pictured). Their problem is that not enough people take the crime seriously for it to become publicly unacceptable.

I know of several people who have bought these hacked devices. I wouldn’t call them friends because their lifestyles don’t appeal to me. I’ve turned down invitations to watch sporting events on these sticks at their homes.

But I do know that they consider bypassing TV subscriptions as – in their words – “fair game” because companies like Sky make so much money. In any legal sense it’s irrelevant how much money Sky makes. But that’s not how these people justify their actions. They’re not the sort who’d steal from a local store because they’re run by ‘normal’ people.

They also have no fear of getting caught. With tens of thousands of people using these devices, they think there’s safety in numbers. As one of them said to me, “They can’t lock us all up, can they?”. I find that attitude depressing. How wretched would society be if we all lived like that? But he might be right. With prisons already overcrowded, are the courts really going to be putting illegal streamers behind bars?

They remind me of people who are happy to take drugs, but would never do anything as seriously criminal as sell drugs. They probably think there’s little harm in it, but they don’t realise how it all funds more destructive criminal enterprises. The only way the police can end this practice is to go after the masterminds supplying the devices and hope courts hand down heavy sentences.

Peter Howell