Another blow to pay TV pirates

A new pay-TV piracy gang has been busted, and the authorities’ organized operations are beginning to bear fruit, according to telecoms industry executives.

Specifically, according to the information, an electronics store in Piraeus illegally sold pay-TV services to customers who had been consulted in advance. its executive directors Organized Crime Sub-Directorate of the Attica Security Directorate These forces proceeded to arrest the store owner and his employee, who are also facing the “weapons” crime. Authorities are also investigating the involvement of other people, as searches of the homes, vehicles and businesses of the suspects began in the early hours of Thursday morning. Under the police microscope is a list of hundreds of customers of the Piraeus store, where cash, illegal decoders and… customers were found who, at the time of the raid, were buying pirated “boxes” or renewing their subscription .

The authorities are reported to be aware that across the country there are a very large number of “window shops” selling illegal streaming subscriptions, ensuring high profits. It is estimated that this activity brings the departments an annual income of 160 million euros, and the number of users in Greece ranges from half a million to 900 thousand. The profitable nature of this activity can be seen after the Greek Police and the Patras Security Directorate, months ago, dismantled a network that had been operating for eight years, had 13,000 clients and obtained an illegal financial benefit of more than $25 million. euro. A smaller department, which was dismantled last June, generated revenues of 1.2 million euros.

EL.AS Foundation. In a storefront in Piraeus that sold illegal communications.

According to telecom market executives, one of the side effects of using illegal digital devices has to do with the fact that users are easier targets for cybercriminals. This is because illegal streaming networks can access the network of households with pirated subscriptions, thus extracting sensitive personal data such as passwords to bank accounts. In some cases, bank accounts can be used, without the knowledge of their owners, to transfer “black” money (“money mules”) to other countries.

Legislation on illegal streaming circuits is expected to be tightened in the near future, with the Joint Ministries of Digital Governance and Culture reportedly launching comprehensive regulations to impose fines on pirated streaming users as well. In Greece there is a legislative framework (paragraph 2 of Article 23 of Law 3166/2003) that provides for the imposition of high financial penalties on those who consume content without paying a price. However, it is impractical in practice because it remains largely unclear. It is worth noting that, as legal sources reported to “K”, today it is difficult to prosecute even subscribers whose names are found in the lists of clients of pirate circles. This is because finding names on the list is an indication and not a result that proves connection to a piracy platform or access to content through special equipment. New provisions for dynamic blocking, i.e. deactivation of websites and their copies displaying pirated content, are also being promoted. This measure is already expected today, but in order to implement it, a “series” of applications and approvals from the relevant bodies is needed. As a result, it takes several days for a pirated website to “stop”, when you are prompted to disable it immediately while watching a sports match, for example.