OTT, IPTV, or even live cable TV are becoming more expensive every day. Tricky subscriptions, ads, and other annoying pop-ups make users look for alternatives.
Some of the popular alternatives users prefer are add-ons, streaming apps, and illegal services. However, if you stream illegal content, it can backfire easily and in the most unexpected ways.
Here is a list of why you might want to avoid illegitimate streaming.
1. Financial Scams
Several apps and websites allow you to stream illegal streams on their platforms or by offering you several links for the live streams. You can get dozens of illegal IPTV providers, which provide thousands of live TV channels at a much lesser price than the originals.
They provide offers and discounts just like the original IPTV providers, and several people fall for them. If you accept their terms and conditions, you might risk financial loss.
As these apps and websites are not official, they can completely shut down their product or services without notice. If you pay for an expensive plan(3-12 months or more), you might risk losing more money.
There are numerous online financial scams that IC3(Internet Crime Complaint Center) and the federal government evaluate daily. So, if you think you can report financial fraud and get a quick resolution, you might be wrong.
2. Malware and Viruses
Even if you do not prefer illegal streaming, there is a good chance that you might have landed on an illegal website that offers free streaming at least once. As soon as you open the website, you would have noticed that something is fishy.
Several pop-ups, annoying ads, and a haphazard interface make the website sketchy. You might not recognize 90% of the ads they are showing because they will be from unreputed networks.
You might think these are just icons, call-to-actions, or buttons, but most of the time, these are downloadable items. If you click on them, you might install or download malware or virus to your device without knowing. And malware and viruses can cause damage like,
- Data theft,
- Identity theft,
- Device Failure,
- Financial frauds and the list goes on.
3. Legal Trouble
Many people take legal warnings lightly as they believe that taking legal action against thousands of people is not possible. I agree with this, but not completely. You might not know when it is your chance to explore prison cells or face prosecution.
Many people also say they did not download or copy any content, but that is not true technically. However, as soon as you start streaming any video, it stores(temporarily) data in your device, known as cache data. This cache data can help the prosecution to reach out to you.
4. Unreliability
After all the financial, legal, and malware-related risks, the last thing you do not want to encounter is unreliable service. After paying for their service, it is not a guarantee that it will work.
The content might be unavailable, the website might not be there, streaming might buffer, no customer support, and more issues like these can happen. Even if you find a website or app or link with no financial risk, any stream-related problem can easily make you miss a live sports event.
The best part? Because there is no customer support, you would not be able to complain or ask for a refund.
5. The Trouble With Your Internet Service Provider
If you manage to avoid legal action, there is a big chance that your ISP(Internet Service Provider) can cut your internet connection. They have the right to perform these kinds of actions if people use their services unfairly.
They can send you an email or a letter pointing out how you misuse their services. You might not get a disabled internet connection after violating terms and services on the first warning. But, if you keep doing the same thing, you might encounter speed throttling or no internet.
In simple words, the legality of IPTV depends on the service in question. If you want to know more about legal terms and conditions, you can follow this link. In this guide, you can also find if an IPTV service is legal or illegal. You can also see a list of unverified and verified IPTV services.
Conclusion
You might not want to stream illegal content because of the previous reasons I mentioned. It is not safe for you and your devices. But, if you can not resist it, there is a little recommendation. You might want to use a VPN to have an extra layer of security.
