Police are now tracing illegal Fire Stick purchases through sellers’ bank records, a former detective warned on BBC Morning Live last week.
Rav Wilding, a former detective, appeared on the BBC program to explain that authorities investigating arrested sellers are combing through financial accounts to identify customers who paid for the jailbroken devices. The method marks an escalation in enforcement against an estimated four million UK households using the modified streaming hardware.
“People are buying them online usually on the black market and then they’re getting all these services for free essentially,” Wilding said.
“But it’s a crime. It’s not allowed. Owning the stick itself is not a crime, but using it for this purpose is.”
Wilding continued that enforcement efforts have concentrated heavily on distributors and sellers with considerable success. “All of them are using them illegally. They’re going for the distributors. They’re going for the sellers,” he said. “They are having a lot of success. But actually, once they’ve got the seller, they’re going through their accounts.”
The former detective outlined what comes next for purchasers caught in financial dragnets. “They’re seeing who has been paying the money for these illegal things, and if they’ve been paying them for these sticks then people should possibly expect a conversation or two if the police want to know why they’ve been paying them money for this,” he added.
Wilding warned that streaming giants are actively assisting prosecution efforts. “They (subscription service providers) are losing money to this, so they have been reaching out and are taking action against those people using them illegally as well,” he said. “So I wouldn’t say it’s something you should do. It is actually a crime and it can have a nasty fine, a huge fine and also a custodial sentence for users and sellers of these things.”
The bank-account tracing method builds on a landmark case earlier this year when digital banking platform Revolut handed over names and addresses of more than 300 users to Sky, which had joined investigations into illegal streaming operations.
Customers typically pay one-off or yearly fees to access live football matches, films and television shows from premium providers including Sky, TNT Sports, Disney+ and Netflix through third-party software installed on the devices. The setup bypasses legitimate subscription requirements entirely.
The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) has already begun direct outreach to consumers. Earlier this year the organization contacted over a thousand individuals across the UK, warning them to “immediately cease using illegal TV streaming services” or face prosecution risk.
FACT Chairman Kieron Sharp previously said: “This campaign makes it clear that end users of illegal streaming services are breaking the law.”
“The risks are real, from potential criminal liability to exposure to scams, viruses, and harmful content,” Sharp continued. “We urge people to protect themselves and their families by only using legitimate providers.”
Users caught accessing illegal streams face potential prosecution under Section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006. FACT’s campaign messaging has emphasized that users are not anonymous despite the private nature of the transactions.
Police operations have recently expanded to include physical raids across seventeen UK areas including Greater Manchester, targeting both sellers and distribution networks of the modified devices.