Criminal gangs are illegally selling premium satellite TV packages for a fraction of their real cost from London stores, an investigation has revealed.
While legitimate Sky movie and sports packages can cost more than £800 a year, they are being offered for £10 a month in high-street shops in the capital.
BBC One’s Inside Out was given access to the City of London’s anti-piracy unit as they carried out a raid on the suspected ring leader of an illegal satellite TV gang.
The programme’s investigators also carried out secret filming at a shop in Greenwich and Upton Park following reports “magic boxes” were allegedly being sold to the public.
Computer experts who analysed purchased set-top boxes said they had been encrypted to allow digital messages to be sent to the pirates to hack into Sky TV signals.
Keith Cottenden, an investigator with computer forensics firm CY40R, said: “People see their monthly subscription of £30, £40 and they can get that much cheaper.
“A lot of people jump straight in and say ‘yes that’s for me’, not realising what they’re doing is a criminal offence.”
An annual full Sky subscription costs £807 a year. A similar Virgin package costs £987 while BT costs £815. By contrast an illegal subscription costing £120 presents an attractive deal for many householders.
However, TV companies claim fraudsters are pushing up the prices for ordinary customers.
Nicola Humphries said she weighed-up several suppliers before deciding to pay £27 a month to Sky for a multi-channel package.
She said: “I think if I’m paying £27 pounds a month and someone else is getting a service and not paying for that service, I’m thinking why should they be getting that service?”
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Eddie Leviten of the Federation Against Copyright Theft said: “Is it fair, is it right, is it just that somebody should be able to steal from someone else and that person won’t be paid for their work? That impacts not just on that one single person but impacts on their family.”
Inside Out London is on tonight at 7.30pm.
