Fraudulent streaming sites continue to threaten both creators and consumers, as rights holders increasingly target IPTV and illegal platforms. Despite years of operation, deceptive websites misrepresent pirated content as legitimate, often leaving subscribers with little value. Recent reports by organizations like BREIN and the Motion Picture Association highlight the risks posed by these scams, yet inconsistencies in defining fraudulent platforms suggest a lack of awareness among industry representatives, complicating efforts to combat this enduring issue.
Understanding the Timeless Threat of Fraudulent Streaming Sites
In the ongoing battle against IPTV and illegal streaming platforms, rights holders are now facing a persistent and age-old scam that poses threats to both creators and consumers. This long-standing issue has only recently caught the attention of industry giants.
For several years, IPTV services and illegal streaming websites have become prime targets for representatives of rights holders and governments globally. In certain countries, legal consequences can be severe, as illustrated by the case of a British man sentenced to a year in prison for distributing IPTV subscriptions.
The Evolution of a Long-Standing Scam
As highlighted by industry experts, a significant oversight by the music, film, and publishing sectors is their neglect of fraudulent websites that falsely advertise a wealth of pirated content as legitimate offerings. These deceptive platforms, which have been in operation for over two decades, initially attracted customers with promises of paid subscriptions that would grant access to movies, TV shows, music, or e-books. However, many subscribers soon found themselves stuck with overpriced subscriptions that offered little to no actual content.
These schemes primarily targeted individuals willing to pay for content, while law enforcement focused on shutting down “free” pirate sites. This allowed the fraudulent “legal” download platforms to continue operating with relative impunity.
In 2021, these sites adapted their business model, still luring customers with enticing offers. Instead of delivering nothing, they provided low-quality films and series that fell far short of the blockbuster titles promoted in their advertisements.
Recently, the Dutch anti-piracy organization BREIN took a significant step in exposing these scams, publishing a report that identified a sprawling network of over 1,000 fraudulent sites. Although this network was dismantled shortly after, the method remains appealing to cybercriminals.
Notably, American cinema representatives, including the Motion Picture Association (MPA), have only recently begun to recognize the risks these scams pose. In September, the MPA released a study titled “Consumer Risk for Piracy in Poland,” which aimed to quantify the cyber threats facing Polish consumers who visit digital piracy websites.
Within this report, the MPA defined fraudulent piracy sites as “platforms that present pirated content as legitimate and encourage users to pay or download malware,” emphasizing their infringement on the rights of content creators and the potential legal repercussions for distributors and consumers alike.
However, a significant gap remains, as the MPA did not specify any examples of these fraudulent sites in their report. Moreover, a similar study focused on the Philippines provided a different definition, describing these sites as “fraudulent piracy platforms that impersonate popular unauthorized content services to deceive users.”
This inconsistency in defining fraudulent platforms highlights a troubling lack of awareness among rights holders regarding the issue. How can a coordinated effort against these scams be initiated if the authorities and entertainment industry representatives fail to accurately identify them? As noted by Torrent Freak, there has been no precedent in piracy site blocking initiatives that have included these deceptive platforms in their scope.