The European authorities have seized a pirate streaming service frequented by over five million users. The pirate streaming platform, which came decked out with its very own customer service team, earned over €15 million ($17 million) via bank transfers and cryptocurrency. According to the Bloomberg report, the illegal streaming platform pirated over 40,000 movies, documentaries, and TV programs from Netflix, Amazon, and other major OTT platforms. The criminal operation ran for over five years before being captured by the Europol.
Europol seizes $5.4 million in cryptocurrency from the pirate streaming platform.
The European authorities discovered among the ill-gotten plunder were exotic cars, property, and approximately $5.4 million in cryptocurrencies. Additionally, officials seized a further $1.2 million in various bank accounts. The lockdowns around the world have forced people to seek refuge online, which has resulted in an increased demand for online entertainment services. The popular streaming service Netflix added 15 million subscribers in the first quarter of this year alone as a result. The lockdowns because of the COVID-19 pandemic has also prompted a rampant rise in piracy. According to an anti-piracy firm, Muso, come March, visits to illegal piracy sites had spiked by more than 40% in the US.
Crypto scams surge amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cryptocurrency-related scams have surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic as it gave cybercriminals a chance to play on the fears of people. As reported earlier, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had issued a warning saying cybercriminals might be looking to unleash a surge in crypto-related crimes. The FBI report noted that fraudsters would tailor their pitch according to the situation and might even impersonate as a local charity that accepts cryptocurrencies. There have already been several reports of scammers playing on the fear of coronavirus and frauding people off their money. Fraudsters lured people into investing in a fake cryptocurrency scheme to “save” victims from the inevitable economic crash.
