Another seller of illegal TV streaming devices has been sent to jail meaning more homes are now blocked from cheap Sky access.
The crackdown on illegal streaming isn’t stopping with another seller of devices that offered much cheaper ways to watch Sky TV ending up behind bars. Gary McNally from Acocks Green Birmingham has just been handed a two-year and nine-month jail sentence for supplying UK homes with access to Sky Entertainment, Sky Sports and Sky Movie channels at vastly reduced prices.
Thousands are thought to have signed up but are now facing blank screens after McNally’s illegal operation was shut down.
McNally first came to the attention of Sky in June 2020, after an investigation revealed that he was using legitimate NOW TV accounts to gain illegal access to Sky content.
Sky then referred the matter to West Midlands Police who, in September 2021, executed warrants at two residential properties in the Birmingham area which led to McNally being located and arrested for fraud and intellectual property offences. He pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court.
“Today’s sentencing highlights the significant consequences that can arise for those that get involved in illegally streaming content,” said Matt Hibbert, Group Director of Anti-Piracy at Sky.
“We are grateful to the West Midlands Police for acting so robustly to take down a highly sophisticated illegal streaming operation.
“We will continue to work with law enforcement to protect our content and help keep consumers safe from criminal piracy networks.”
And a spokesperson for West Midlands Police added: “We will work with partners wherever possible to disrupt criminal activity, and we hope this case sends a warning message to anyone involved in this kind of criminal enterprise.”
Two other individuals were arrested alongside McNally. One person has since been released with no further action. A second person has been released pending further investigation.
This latest raid comes after more crackdowns across the whole UK have taken swathes of online streams offline.
One seller from Halifax was recently handed a two-year prison sentence for selling dodgy Fire TV Stick devices over an 18-month period – raking in thousands of pounds.
So should you be worried?
Although it’s unlikely that arrests or raids will ever be made on those using modified devices to watch Sky streams, there are still plenty of dangers when using them. These gadgets can come laced with malware and there aren’t any parental blocks which means younger members of the family can be exposed to inappropriate content.
Premium services such as Sky and Disney+ aren’t cheap but they won’t ever put the user in any danger.
