Jail warning to illegal Prem game streamers
THOUSANDS of Brits could face five years jail after cops smashed a gang offering illegal streams of Premier League football.
Cops in Italy are probing links to a Mafia cartel after carrying out a Europe-wide bust.
Insiders say police will now have bank details of “tens of thousands” of Brits who use the service. But it is unclear if Italian prosecutors will pursue UK customers who used fully loaded Kodi boxes to access illegal content.
But UK experts warn those who pay as little as 12 euros a month for Internet Protocol Television streams of top-flight football, Sky and Netflix could be jailed.
Last night the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit said: “Misusing TV subscriptions has serious repercussions. For example, customers illegally sharing paid-for content can have their subscription account terminated immediately and may be prosecuted and fined.
“Receiving IPTV can be considered obtaining services dishonestly with a sentence of up to five years.
“Additionally, by paying for such a stream, you are giving your details to criminals, and denying owners of the copyright revenue they are entitled to.
“You also run the risk of opening your home network or devices to malware.” Kieron Sharp, of anti- piracy group FACT, said: “This action is an important step in taking down networks that steal from creators and businesses.”
The alleged kingpin of the piracy network, Franco Maccarelli, was held in Naples and computer systems and cash seized. He is said to have made £6million a year.
Insiders say social media forums in the UK “lit up” with frustrated fans after their illegal streams were halted.