Well Known Pay Server found Guilty - Facing Prison

A hi tech fraudster made £120,000 by selling illicit satellite television packages on the internet.

Operating from the bedroom of his Mossend home, Gavin Gray was potentially costing broadcast giant Sky £1.2 million a year with his cheap deals.

Now he faces a jail sentence and losing his ill-gotten gains under a Proceeds of Crime Action. Gray (25), of Asquith Place, Mossend, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court today and admitted charges of fraud and breach of copyright.

The scam ran from January 2010 for more than four years. His home was raided by investigators in July 2014. The court heard Gray, who works as a landscaper, provided his customers with codes which allowed them access to satellite television including Sky Sports.

Callum Forsyth, prosecuting, said the full Sky package costs £57 per month, but through a website Gray was offering rates of just £5 for 30 days and £30 per year. An investigator from the Federation Against Copyright Theft posed as a customer and contacted Gray’s website in May 2014. He was given a password and user name along with instructions on how to log into a server.

Mr Forsyth told the court: “He was able to view content including Sky Sports and made payment through a PayPal account used by the accused.” Mr Forsyth said £44,260 was seized from a safe at Gray’s home. The accused admitted having 1800 customers paying £5 per month and it was found that £120,434 had been paid into his PayPay account over a two-year period. During an internet chat he boasted of potentially costing Sky £208,000 a month in lost business. Defence agent Elspeth Forrest said Gray had “dealt with the matter responsibly with an early guilty plea”. Sheriff Thomas Millar deferred sentence until March and continued bail.

Source

http://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/news/crime/fraudster-sold-cheap-tv-deals-1-4338830

The Pay Server was HULA1

Look's like it's now hit the national press too

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/gardener-rakes-money-sky-tv-9621328?ICID=FB_mirror_main

Very Very Very lucky boy!!! 12 month tag & 300 hours community service

Man, 25, First In Scotland Convicted Of TV Broadcasts 'Card Sharing'

A 25-year-old man has become the first in Scotland to be convicted of ''card sharing'', which allowed encrypted TV broadcasts to be viewed without a valid subscription.

Gavin Gray, 25, of Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, pleaded guilty to four charges of fraud and offences under the Copyright Designs Patent Act 1988.

His offences allowed protected encrypted television broadcasts to be viewed without a valid subscription to the broadcast provider.

He was sentenced to 300 hours community service and given a 12-month restriction of liberty order at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Monday.

It followed a multi-agency operation involving Police Scotland, FACT, Sky, Virgin Media and other agencies in 2014 which led to his arrest.

When officers searched his home they seized £44,500 hidden in a safe in the loft. Police later seized £80,000 from his bank account.

Police say Gray advertised his business on dedicated card-sharing websites and forums which supplied illegal access to homes across Scotland.

Chief Inspector Mark Leonard, lead for counterfeit and intellectual property for Police Scotland, said: ''Officers conducted an operation in conjunction with a number of agencies including FACT at the home address of Gavin Gray where they seized computer equipment and large sums of cash.

''The subsequent investigation revealed that Mr Gray was the lynchpin in large-scale, organised illegal activity known in the industry as 'card sharing' with clients across the UK and internationally, serviced by his online website from his Bellshill base.

''This activity allows people to electronically purchase command lines to data held on computer servers that provides them with access to premium digital broadcast channels.

''Although people may think that this will have little impact on major broadcasters, make no mistake, the amount of money being lost is on a large scale.

''Purchasing a 'so-called bargain' may lead to a visit from the police at your door, so think twice before saying yes.''

FACT director general Kieron Sharp said: ''Whether it's card sharing or IPTV set-top boxes, allowing access to premium pay-for TV without the proper licence is illegal.

''FACT takes this criminality very seriously and will continue to work with Police Scotland and our members including BT Sport, the Premier League, Sky and Virgin Media to ensure that this illegal activity is disrupted.''

Source: http://www.capitalfm.com/scotl…irst-in-scotland-convict/

Edit: Looks like he even made the STV site as well https://stv.tv/news/west-centr…icted-of-tv-card-sharing/