Two men running a sophisticated IPTV illegal streaming service have seen their illicit empire crumble. Now, a warning has been issued to others who might be doing the same after a massive PayPal error saw it fall apart.
It's the latest in a very recent period where authorities are bloodying the nose of illegal streaming across the globe, with the Premier League issuing a 'stark IPTV warning' just last week.
The world's richest football league is also behind recent court action that could see illegal streamers' information handed over to them.
One common way to watch illegal content is through websites illegally hosting TV shows, films, and live channels. But an increasing popular option is through Internet Protocol television, which is stylised as IPTV.
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More and more people are using jailbroken Amazon Fire TV Sticks to download IPTV apps. They bypass the device's operating system and provide catalogues of premium content that you can only legally get if you pay for subscriptions.
And now, one illegal IPTV service with almost 4,000 paying subscribers has been taken out with the two men behind it arrested and prosecuted.
Earlier this month, Worcester Crown Court sentenced Benjamin Yates and Lewis Finch after busting their 'Titan Streams' IPTV service.
The two confessed to illegally supplying IPTV to let subscribers watch content across BT Sport (now TNT Sports) as well as Sky Sports. They were handed 20-month prison sentences, suspended for 18 months, alongside 250 hours of community service.
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Yates and Finch, both from Worcester, were convicted of offences under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The prosecution followed an investigation by Worcestershire County Council’s Trading Standards team with the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and BT Sport.
Worcestershire County Council spoke to LADbible following the conviction, where it revealed that test purchases were essential to taking down the illegal streaming platform.
Working with FACT and BT in the criminal investigation, the Worcestershire Trading Standards team were given permission to track the purchases to see where the money went.
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They could then hone in on the accounts believed to belong to the IPTV owners, busting open a £320,000 money trail of people paying for the illegal streaming service after police executed warrants on the homes of both Yates and Finch.
“There are legal gateways that allow for information to be requested by Worcestershire Trading Standards Service, from businesses or other organisations to assist with any criminal investigation," a trading standards spokesperson said.
"In this case, information was obtained from PayPal concerning accounts linked to the defendants, to confirm who had received payment for the test purchases, but also to identify the financial scale of the business.”
In total, Titan Streams IPTV had approximately 3,971 subscribers.
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Kieron Sharp, CEO at FACT, said: “This court result underscores the value of our collaboration with Worcestershire County Council’s Trading Standards team and our broadcast partners.
"The individuals behind this illicit streaming service made a considerable amount of money through their fraudulent activities and this outcome serves as a stern warning to those who sell subscriptions or devices that provide access to content without properly compensating the rightful owners.
"We will continue to use all available powers to work with law enforcement and our broadcast partner, TNT Sports, to combat illegal streaming services and the broader criminal activities they support."
Simon Wilkes, Head of Worcestershire Regulatory Services, said Yates and Finch's IPTV crimes 'damage the interests of those who own the intellectual property rights to the subscription TV services and can affect legitimate customers through higher subscription prices'.
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