Just in case you wonder why we forbid keys here on the forum

[Analoguesat]

Two men have today been sentenced to a total of 15 months imprisonment for offences relating to hacking, under the Copyright and Designs Act.

Carl Morgan Davison of Llanfechell in Amlwch and Mark Taylor from Leeds were sentenced to 10 months and 5 months respectively, at Caernarfon Crown Court, following a lengthy investigation by North Wales Police in conjunction with Virgin Media and BSkyB.

Between September 2003 and 2006 the two men had created a step-by-step guide to by-passing the security measures on digital TV set-top boxes, to obtain services without payment.

In June 2005, Virgin Media and BSkyB made a complaint to North Wales Police in relation to the activities of the administrators and members of a website forum called w*w.modshack.co.uk, to the effect that they were defrauding the companies.

The operation took a considerable amount of time and expertise, but North Wales Police were determined to bring Davison, who used the aliases of “Hairy Monster,” “HM” or “H,” and Taylor, who was also known as “Novice Angle “ or “Bubba’s Buoy,” to justice.

The Modshack website contained a link whereby members could make a donation to the site. This resulted in almost £27,000 being paid to those involved.

Detective Superintendent Peter Chalinor stated: “My team, working with Virgin Media and BSkyB have done a considerable amount of work and obtained an excellent result, but people need to be aware that if they commit fraud in North Wales we will come after you.”

Malcolm Davies, Virgin Media’s head of fraud security said: “This sentencing should act as a serious warning to others to steer clear of this type of crime. We take this matter extremely seriously and we will continue to work closely with all the police forces throughout the UK to prosecute individuals connected with this type of fraud.”

He added: “We want to drive a clear message home to those involved in this fraudulent activity – whether they are suppliers or customer – anyone modifying set-top-boxes or receiving their channels in this way is acting illegally and committing a serious offence.”

Anyone with information about people supplying or using illicit equipment to receive Virgin Media TV channel’s should call the confidential hotline on 0800 096 7800.

Note:

The Modshack site was closed down after the two men were arrested in September 2006.


source:

h**p://www.north-wales.police.uk/nwpv2/en/yglas/newsDetail.asp?sid=PR46323

(posted yesterday).