Amazon warns illegal streamers of hidden danger on ‘dodgy’ Fire Sticks used to watch Premier League games on the cheap

AMAZON has warned Fire Stick users of the hidden dangers when using dodgy apps to illegally stream Premier League games and more on the cheap.

A new report has pointed the finger at tech giants like Amazon for being “both friend and foe” in solving rampant piracy that’s costing TV firms billions.

GettyIllegal streaming services often appear in adverts on social media[/caption] Sky says illegal streaming is a ‘serious issue’ costing the industry billionsGetty / AFP

More than 50 per cent of Brits watching illegal streams on a physical device were found to be doing so via an Amazon product, according to research by Enders Analysis.

Big broadcasters like Sky say Amazon isn’t doing enough to address the issue.

Nick Herm, Sky Group’s chief operating officer said the report “highlights the significant scale and impact of piracy, particularly on premium live sport”.

“It’s a serious issue for anyone who invests in creating and delivering world-class content,” he explained to the BBC.

“We’d like to see faster, more joined-up action from major tech platforms and government to address the problem and help protect the UK creative industries.”

Amazon told The Sun it has made changes to its Fire TV devices to make it more difficult to stream pirated content.

And it has on-device warnings to alert customers of the risks associated with sideloaded apps which are downloaded from outside the approved Amazon Appstore.

Those risks are largely concerned with fraud.

There have been numerous cases of people looking to illegal streaming as a way to slash their TV bills, only to be left severely out of pocket.

One victim recently revealed to The Sun how thousands was accessed from his bank account after signing up to one.

Fortunately, his bank flagged it as fraud and stopped the payment, but not everyone has been so lucky.

“Pirated content violates our policies regarding intellectual property rights, and compromises the security and privacy of our customers,” a spokesperson said.

“We work with industry partners and relevant authorities to combat piracy and protect customers from the risks associated with pirated content.

“Our Appstore prohibits apps that infringe upon the rights of third parties and we warn customers of the risks associated with installing or using apps from unknown sources.” 

Elsewhere in the report, Facebook-owner Meta was accused of being a source of adverts for illegal streaming devices.