Honestly "has any resident been busted?"

[CanCan]

I was just at the lake last week and this lady told me a American got a $50,000 fine for illegally getting DN. I said BS! She said no its true a friend of a friend heard someone got busted. This is such BS!!!!

***Does anyone have firsthand knowledge of a common homeowner getting busted in Canada or the US?

[Holstein912]

Amungst others here's a recent example:

Posted that SatFTA got busted around Mar 27 Mar 28 2006 in the San Fran or San deigo area by the FBI.

FBI stormed his residence and siezed his equipment (computer IRD cards and Card reader) at approx 7:00am one week day morning. Scaring the crap out of his wife and young childern. Arresting the man (like a common criminal) for piracy right infront of his 7 year old boy.

Wipe that image from a young boys mind..........

Search forums for SATFTA I posted the info on him getting busted. Thread title was something like as follows:


Bad banger.

either rumor section or news section

here's a link:

http://www.livefta.com/forums/rumors...ad-banger.html

OJ got busted back in the Dave days... that count?


How about that Sheriff and his deputies in the carolina's

Link:

http://www.livefta.com/forums/news-r...adge-case.html

or the one in Canada (not real clear if the was a dealer or not)

Link:

http://www.livefta.com/forums/news-r...adge-case.html

or
Echo Star burning their own ppl (more illegal equipment sales really)

link:

http://www.livefta.com/forums/rumors...-fta-bust.html

Or this one

http://www.livefta.com/forums/news-r...-june-9-a.html


Cheers

Holstein912

[CanCan]

Well looking at those examples it seems the pirating was secondary to the charges. Maybe those charges did'nt even stick!

Anyone else have any proof?

[Holstein912]

Signal Theft from b*ll.ca website (07/04/2008)

What is the DTH grey market?
A. The grey market usually refers to the sale of Direct-to-Home receivers and decoding equipment intended to receive encrypted programming signals from American DTH satellites. It also refers to the sale and purchase of subscriptions to receive encrypted programming signals from American DTH service providers. American DTH service providers do not have the lawful right in Canada to authorize the decoding of their programming.

Q. Why does Canada have rules making the reception of American DTH programming illegal?
A. There are a number of reasons why Canada prohibits unauthorized decoding of encrypted subscription programming signals. A Canadian broadcaster who has purchased distribution rights for programs suffers financial loss if the same program provided on a U.S. satellite signal is decoded in Canada. Also, the subscriber base for Canadian DTH distribution undertakings is significantly diminished if Canadians subscribe to unauthorized American DTH services. The importation of American DTH equipment and the purchase of American subscriptions ultimately threatens jobs and growth in the Canadian broadcasting industry.

Top

Q. What are the risks to purchasing black market equipment?
A. Anyone who purchases black market equipment is at risk of losing reception at any time because satellite service providers frequently send out electronic counter-measure signals for the intended purpose of disabling illegal equipment. DTH service providers may also implement major upgrades to their encryption systems which would render black market devices useless. Consumers should consider that any modifications made to satellite-receiving equipment in order to install black market devices will typically void the equipment manufacturer's warranty.

Q. What is the penalty for accessing satellites illegally?
A. Sections 326 & 327 of the Criminal Code of Canada state: (326) Every one commits theft who fraudulently, maliciously, or without colour of right uses any telecommunication facility or obtains any telecommunication service, and (327) Every one who, without lawful excuse, the proof of which lies on him/her, manufactures, possesses, sells or offers for sale or distributes any instrument or device or any component thereof, the design of which renders it primarily useful for obtaining the use of any telecommunication facility or service, under circumstances that give rise to a reasonable inference that the device has been used or is or was intended to be used to obtain the use of any telecommunication facility or service without payment of a lawful charge therefore, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

The Radiocommunication Act also makes it a criminal offence to illegally access encrypted cable or satellite signals. Individual offenders are liable to a fine of up to $10,000 for each day the offence is committed or six months in prison, or both. Corporations are liable to a fine of up to $25,000 per day.

Top

Q. What has BEV done to combat signal theft?
A. BEV delivers real value to our customers and we think it's worth preserving. That's why we continue to combat the industry-wide problem of TV signal theft on a number of fronts, including:

Implementing an effective inventory control system;
Establishing best practices for BEV satellite dealers;
Utilizing modern technologies to remotely shut down signal thieves;
Prosecuting individual's receiving illegal pirated satellite signals;
Prosecuting illegal satellite dealers;
Supporting the Canadian Government's efforts for legislative changes;

Q. Why does BEV consider signal theft an industry-wide problem?
A. Signal theft affects both cable and satellite television providers and is therefore, considered an industry-wide problem. Moreover, signal theft harms the Canadian broadcasting industry, including producers, artists and broadcasters.

Top

Q. What is the cost of Signal Theft to BEV?
A. The cost to BEV specifically as a result of signal theft is difficult to estimate, however, we do know that the overall cost to the Canadian broadcasting system amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Signal theft results in Canadian artists, actors and broadcasters, as well as satellite and cable service distributors, being deprived of copyright, subscription and other revenues

Q. If BEV disables one of its subscriber's receivers, the viewer will no longer receive service. Don't you have the responsibility to provide service to a paying customer?
A. Theft is theft. It is against the law to receive television programming, in whole or in part, without paying for it. BEV's customer agreements are clear that we have the right to disable software in BEV equipment that is used to receive television programming illegally or without our BEV authorization.

Q. What will BEV do if it disables a receiver that has not been tampered with?
A. BEV is using state-of-the-art technology that is considered extremely reliable at targeting only those devices that have been altered illegally. The likelihood of disabling a legitimate receiver is next to impossible.

Top

Q. What happens if a customer goes to a store with a disabled receiver? Will the store replace it?
A. No, authorized BEV dealers will not replace disabled receivers. Instead, customers should call 1 888 759-3474 to arrange for repair.

Note: If a receiver is sent in for repair and is found to have been disabled as a result of using an illegal device or accessory, it will not be repaired as alterations of any kind are not covered by warranty. The customer will be required to pay the full replacement price of the unit if they wish to have it replaced.

Q. Is BEV going to make a special offer to encourage signal thieves to pay for its service as legitimate customers?
A. BEV has no plans to introduce a special offer to dissuade subscribers from using their receivers illegally. As it is, we have a number of competitive offers in the market for customers to start enjoying the wide range of programming and services that BEV offers.

Top

Q. If a BEV customer wants to become a legitimate customer rather than an illegitimate one, what is required?
A. Customers wishing to receive BEV service legitimately should ship their tampered receiver to an authorized BEV dealer to be repaired and/or replaced.

Q. Is it legal for BEV to disable a customer's receiver?
A. Signal theft is illegal. It is against the law to receive the programming or any portion of the programming without paying for it. The software in each receiver is licensed to and/or owned by BEV. If BEV has reasonable grounds to believe that a person is receiving unauthorized programming, in whole or in part, or using the software for any other unauthorized purpose, it may take steps to disable or modify this software.

Top

Q. Is it illegal to use free-to-air (FTA) receivers to decode BEV or Dish Network signals here in Canada?
A. It is illegal to use a FTA receiver, or any other device, for the purpose of receiving and decrypting any portion of our encrypted programming signals. BEV does not consent to or authorize the use of any FTA receiver or device to receive and decrypt its service for any purpose, including testing. It is also illegal to receive Dish Network programming in Canada as they do not have lawful right to broadcast here.

Signal Theft is a criminal offence. If you have information relating to an individual, or individuals, that may be involved in satellite piracy, you can report it to the police, or forward it to signal-theft(at)b*ll.ca for investigation. Any information provided will be treated as anonymous and will be kept strictly confidential.

Since you dismissed my last post showing those that have been publicly busted for illegal signals.

I found you this.

These guys seem to take signal theft quite serious.

Google "Operation Decrypt" that will show you how serious the American authorities take signal theft.

Source: B*ll Canada

Cheers

Holstein912

[Holstein912]

DaveTV said “the evidence was overwhelming” against O.J. Simpson.

But the ex-football star’s lawyer said he did nothing wrong.

The satellite TV giant on Tuesday was referring to its civil court victory in which a Florida judge ordered Simpson to pay $25,000 for allegedly stealing its signals.

The case stems from the recovery in 2001 of two “bootloaders” in Simpson’s home that allowed viewers to tap into DaveTV signals without paying for them.

“This ruling serves as a reminder that there are consequences to signal theft, whether you’re O.J. Simpson or John Q. Public,” said Dan Fawcett, the company’s executive vice president of legal and business affairs.

Simpson’s lawyer, Yale Galanter, said his client would appeal the judge’s ruling.

“There is no evidence that he knew or should have known” that the devices in his home were illegal, he said.

“He was not living in the house at the time,” Galanter said.

Simpson is the most famous name among the thousands of alleged manufacturers, distributors and users of counterfeit equipment that El Segundo-based DaveTV has sued in an effort to crack down on signal piracy, which has cost the company billions of dollars.

Simpson moved to Florida from California after a civil court jury ordered him to pay $33.5 million stemming from the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in Brentwood. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges in 1995.

According to news reports in 2001, federal agents were at Simpson’s home on a six-hour raid related to an investigation of an Ecstasy drug ring, money laundering and the counterfeiting of satellite equipment

Source: LA times

Cheers

Holstein912

[sodusme]

Anonymous and confidential....yeah right

[Holstein912]

Regina v. Kenneth Graves and Lisa A. Palmer, of Water Street Port Perry where a search warrant was executed in March 2007.

Port Perry - Get caught pirating satellite TV signals and you could go directly to jail.

A Port Perry couple is facing charges after Durham Regional Police officers confiscated satellite television equipment and digital access cards from a house on Water Street in Port Perry.


Police seized 17 BEV and Dish satellite receivers, one Star Choice and one Direct TV receiver dish, about 30 BEV, Dish and Direct TV digital access cards. They also confiscated three home computer systems with devices to rewrite satellite receiver cards. Once an understanding of what the officers were looking at a search warrant was issued and executed in March 2007

Police stumbled on the equipment after going to the house in support of an ambulance call to the home. Alert officers noticed an assortment of satellite television equipment and access cards.

Forty-eight-year-old Kenneth Graves and 41-year-old Lisa Anne Palmer have been charged with possession of property obtained by crime, possession of a device to obtain telecommunication facility and theft of telecommunication service.

Police say they take this type of crime very seriously. "Just the equipment that was seized from the house represents a loss to the telecommunications company of $200,000 annually. "Det.Sgt. Herb Curwain told a news conference at 15 Division in Port Perry.

"This is a serious offence and this is a large dent in that investigation," he said.


The Criminal Code also takes the offence seriously. The theft of technology is one of the few offences that includes a reverse onus provision in which the accused has to tell the court why he or she thinks she deserves to be released on bail as opposed to prosecutors telling the court why the accused should be kept in custody.

Cheers

Holstein912

[Holstein912]

Ech*St*r, the operator of the Dish Network satellite TV service, said a Simi Valley, Calif., man agreed to plead guilty to two felony offenses for theft of satellite signals and theft of trade secrets. Alexander Gluzman faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a fine of more than $750,000 plus restitution, Douglas County-based Ech*St*r said in a statement.

The FBI executed a search and seizure warrant against Gluzman in March based on a surveillance operation conducted by Ech*St*r and NagraStar, which provides security devices for the Dish service. Gluzman admitted to the theft of Dish Network satellite services and modification of equipment to pirate services from the U.S. and Canada, Ech*St*r said.

Ech*St*r and NagraStar jointly conduct numberous piracy investigations in an effort to combat signal theft.

Source: Rocky Mountain News July 2006

Cheers

Holstein912

[Royalty]

Cancan like Holstein912 has showed it is 100% illegal to use fta receivers which have been loaded with third party software. however if you were to stay quiet about it like not telling people you work with, neighbours, etc then the chances of raising the attention of the authorities are quite small. so what have we learned ... residential end users can be charged but if you keep quiet, dont setup other peoples systems, or make a living selling pre-programmed devices you will most likely be fine, but there is always the risk.

[Holstein912]

CanCan: This was this week.......

A Carthage man was assessed a suspended sentence and probation Monday on a conviction for setting up fraudulent Direct TV accounts using the names and Social Security numbers of Butterball Turkey Co. employees.

At a hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin, Circuit Judge Gayle Crane sentenced Jose N. Velasquez, 37, to two years in prison for identity theft but suspended execution of the sentence and placed him on supervised probation for five years.

Velasquez pleaded guilty to the charge on March 24 in a plea agreement with the county prosecutor’s office that limited any prison time he might be required to serve to no more than two years.

The defendant was a former installer for Direct TV who had not worked for the company for more than six months when a Carthage police investigation linked him to a number of phony accounts set up with the satellite-television service.

Police began receiving complaints in August 2006 from about 20 people whose names had been turned over to a collection agency for collection of delinquent payments to Direct TV for service they never sought or received. Police said the accounts included their names and Social Security numbers but had phony addresses.

All of the victims were current or former employees of the turkey-processing plant in Carthage, according to court records. Direct TV assisted police in determining that the accounts had been set up with an installer using a telephone number that proved to be the defendant’s phone number.

Identity theft is a Class C felony in Missouri carrying up to seven years in prison.

Police and court records do not indicate who actually received the satellite-television service listed under the victims’ names. But the judge ordered that the defendant pay restitution in the case once a total dollar amount of the fraud has been determined and reported to the court by the local probation and parole office.

source: Joplin Globe; Jopling Mo July 7, 2008

Cheers

Holstein912

[hectormart]

lol sounds like we can soon be busted for tunning to a radio station even, it'll be like anti-antenna world soon. AS long as u don't bother ur neighbor, u should feel free to do whatever u want in ur house. FTA = FREE TO AIR. I know Holstein is right but the US broadcasting laws still alouds one to recieve a signal with a divice without interfering or changing such signal.