'It does not make sense to pay that much money': Dodgy box users defiant despite court ruling

As Sky moves to identify hundreds of illegal streamers, users insist soaring subscription prices are driving them towards consistent use of 'dodgy boxes'

'You’re getting double-charged, you’re getting charged for things that aren’t even brand new.' File picture

“You basically need to know someone who knows someone to get a dodgy box. And then you just usually meet them in a car park, you give them the cash, and they give it to you in a box, and you take it home.” 

Those are the words of Barry (not his real name), who said he’d rather pay €150 a year for a ‘dodgy box’ than spend nearly €2,000 a year on all subscriptions, such as Sky, Netflix, Disney+, Prime, as well as myriad other streaming services.

A dodgy box is a tablet or phone without a screen, which can come pre-loaded with apps that you can stream from without paying for those subscriptions.

It comes as the names and addresses of 300 “dodgy box” users are set to be given to Sky in its continuing efforts to tackle illegal streaming of its content, the High Court heard on Wednesday.

An order was granted by Mr Justice Brian Cregan that Revolut Bank — the provider of accounts from which end users sent money to dodgy box resellers — must provide details of 304 subscribers as well as details of 10 resellers.

However, even with the crackdown happening across the nation, Barry said he would rather pay €150 a year for a dodgy box than spend the same amount per month to watch the latest shows and movies, as well as football, GAA, rugby, and practically any other sport across the world.

“It does not make sense to pay that much money, especially when the costs of everything are going up,” he told the Irish Examiner.

“The cinema is really expensive nowadays. If you’re going for two people, let's say popcorn and tickets, that’s €40, and that’s not really feasible, especially if you want to go once a week. And even with like an Omni plex pass, which would be for two or three films a month, there would sometimes not be anything worth it on in the cinema.

“At least with the dodgy box, you have the liberty of choosing what you want, of everything, like for example pay-per-view TV, it’s all there. People pay to watch those UFC fights, for example, but with the box, I just turn it on, and it's there,” Barry added.

'Affordable and practical'

The Cork man said having a box makes life “a lot more easier, more affordable, and more practical". 

“I would love to go full above board, go and pay for everything, but it’s just not feasible. Everyone I know has one, and I spread the word as well,” Barry added.

“Streaming services have taken on a massive monopoly, and because they are all competing with each other, they are all increasing their prices and therefore making it unaffordable for everyone to continue paying for that.

“There are just too many streaming platforms to watch different shows that I would be interested in, and instead, at least with the box, I find my favourite series, all in one place and I don’t have to worry about paying for a subscription to get the 10 episodes that have just dropped, or watch one episode per week as it drops, it’s all there,” he added.

Barry explained how simple it was to get a dodgy box from a seller.

If I wanted a dodgy box, I just need to know someone who knows someone who knows someone. That’s how it worked for me.

“And then, if I do get in contact with this person, I’ll meet them at usually a car park and then I’ll give him the money and then you get your thing, and then I’ll take it home and plug it in and set it up and then they text me an email, you sign into it and that’s it. 

"I have an expiry for the subscription, so when that date comes along, I’ll get a code, and I just text it and get a new one,” he added.

A number of home devices, including dodgy boxes, were compromised in February following a large-scale global cyberattack.

Grant Thornton said the attack was launched by a botnet called Kimwolf, which is made up of mainly "compromised Android-enabled televisions and TV streaming devices".

When asked if these cyber attacks would cause any concern, Barry said he wasn’t afraid of his personal data being out there as “we are always online and our information is out there". 

Compromised home network

Ekco Security president Pat Larkin said the “impact of a compromised home network is potentially very significant to your family and your work". 

"Every device that you use, whether on a corporate network or a home network, needs to be appropriately secured,” Mr Larkin said.

“Part of that security is knowing the provenance of the device — does it come from a trusted, reputable source, who has your best interests at heart?

“The next issue is, can you keep it appropriately secured from being compromised to be used against you, your family or other organisations. 

"This usually means only using a minimum set of known software and apps, keeping it secured from unauthorised access with passwords and multi-factor authentication, keeping it patched, appropriately deploying it on the correct part of your home network, etc.

“Home networks are used to process personal family information, online banking and usually service personal and work devices.

“The impact of a compromised home network is potentially very significant to your family and your work. 

"Dodgy boxes, by their nature, usually fail most or all of these basic security tenets. Ekco's advice is do not use,” Mr Larkin added.

'Double charged'

On the other hand, Cathal (not his real name) said he’d rather stream on piracy sites than pay for streaming subscriptions.

“Netflix has gone really shit, like the standard is poor. The standard is also really poor on Prime. And then all those movies and TV shows I want to watch, you have to pay to rent them on a subscription that you are already paying for, it makes no sense,” he said.

“You’re getting double-charged, you’re getting charged for things that aren’t even brand new.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

“I love to go to the cinema to watch movies, but I also love to watch them on my laptop at home in bed. 

"And I’m not going to pay €3.99 just so I can fall asleep watching a movie when I can easily just go on a dodgy website and kind of go: There’s a few ads here, a few ads there, I’ll just click off and get it for free.

“It’s not about it being free, it’s about like the point of why am I paying for a rental of something I’m already subscribing to?” Cathal added.

The Cork man said he uses a VPN to protect his laptop or phone whenever he uses those websites and that he isn’t afraid of losing his personal data as “we already give our data to the likes of Facebook, Instagram and everything”. 

“We know they are selling our data to whoever they want, so it’s not black and white for me; they are all the same. Your data is going to be used anyway.

“If you just pay nothing, you get everything you want, and you just run the risk of losing your data,” Cathal added.

'I know people who get Netflix and Prime on their phone bill, and I’m like, that’s cool, but what are you paying for, and why are you paying more?'

He claimed new TV packages being offered just increase people’s bills and costs. “I know people who get Netflix and Prime on their phone bill, and I’m like, that’s cool, but what are you paying for, and why are you paying more?

“Are you paying that subscription on your phone or to Sky to just get the accessibility to Netflix, or are they just throwing it at you? For numbers, for drive. For things that don’t even matter to us, but matter to them. Like viewership.

“I'm sure if Netflix and Prime and all these streaming sites go below a certain viewership, they're in the shit,” Cathal added.

Cathal said we have “become lazy” and are looking for “the quick fix". 

“People are willing to pay just for those two or three seconds of difference that you would get if you weren’t using a piracy website, which would be full of ads,” he added.

Sky responds

A spokesperson for Sky said: “Illegal streaming puts consumers at real risk of online harms, including fraud and identity theft.

“It is often unreliable and can expose devices and personal data to further risk, while also draining vital investment away from the creative industries behind the shows and sports people love,” the spokesperson said.

“We encourage people to enjoy their favourite content safely and legally, with the appropriate subscription.

"At Sky, we are always looking for ways to make things easier and to offer more choice for our customers. That’s why we are proud to offer, in a world‑first, Sky TV, HBO Max, Disney+, Hayu, and Netflix together as part of the Sky Ultimate TV package.

“This gives customers easy access to over €30 worth of streaming apps included each month. For new customers, this represents unbeatable value at just €28 a month, and existing Sky customers get all these streaming apps at no additional cost to their subscription,” the spokesperson added.