Located in an address of Tarrasa (Barcelona)
The National Police dismantles a center of fraudulent distribution of audiovisual content and payment channels
The detainee and administrator of the website provided access to content of channels belonging to different payment platforms, specifically sports events. § Among the clients of this network were numerous hotel establishments located throughout the Spanish geography
August 16, 2019 National Police agents have dismantled an IPTV center – Internet television protocol system – that was dedicated to commercialize audiovisual content and payment channels fraudulently. The detainee provided access to content of channels, mostly sports, belonging to different payment platforms. The center was located in a house in Tarrasa (Barcelona) and among its clients there are numerous hotel establishments located throughout the Spanish geography.
Fraudulent distribution from a house in Tarrasa
The investigation began with a complaint that provided data on the irregular service offered from a web page managed from the province of Barcelona, where audiovisual content was distributed fraudulently.
The defendant carried out this activity without the authorization of the owners of intellectual property rights, receiving in return a predetermined and periodic economic consideration that varied according to the contracted term and the modality of access to the illegal contents.
These fraudulent services were marketed through the sale of decoders in which, after payment of the amounts established according to the contracted producer mode, the corresponding firmware was inserted that enabled access to various servers. In this way, users had access to content from channels belonging to different payment platforms, especially sports events. In addition, the defendant used the commercial name of these large content operators to advertise their services.
Web pages closed
After several steps, the agents arrested the alleged perpetrator of the events and registered his domicile located in the Barcelona town of Tarrasa where the effects related to the illegal activity were found. In addition, we proceeded to block and cancel the service offered to its customers related to the broadcasting of digital platform content illegally.
A total of 4,705 euros were intervened at the address, an amount presumably derived from this illegal activity, and the presence of payment invoices for the illegal service to numerous hotel establishments located throughout the Spanish geography was confirmed. All this indicates the wide scope of the fraudulent activity carried out by the detainee and the degree of collusion of the different user-clients, which is not limited to individual participation but to other forms of commercialization.