Satellite, cable or other - conditional access providers such as pay TV operators are facing increasing pressure from fraudsters illegally accessing their stream. This page will look at this burgeoning issue, three ways fraudsters operate and how Internet Fraud Watchdog can help.

The Cost of Pay TV Fraud

In 2008, according to Sue Taylor, Senior VP NDS, whilst the pay TV market grew to almost 300 million subscribers across the US, the net cost of pay TV piracy in 2008 topped US$1.7 billion, up from US$1.5 billion in 2007.

The cost is borne not only by the pay TV providers with many local and state jurisdictions missing out on a valuable tax asset, but also by up stream content providers missing out on royalty revenue, hurting an already vulnerable industry.

Ignorance or Organised?

Some activity regarded as fraud is attributed to ignorant users innocently downloading the information. However, there is a large portion of supply that is deliberate and organised, netting the fraudsters generous revenues at little expense to themselves.

IFW is often called on by clients to trace the physical locale of the fraudsters, which can be anywhere on the globe.

How These Fraudsters Operate

There are generally three modes of operations:

Most pay TV operators are well aware of the issues they are facing with these fraudsters; however some are doing little to control the problem. Internet Fraud Watchdog can help.