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Many households are looking for places to spend less money, and streaming services are often the first subscription people think of cutting down on. New research from Go Compare says 35% of UK households would cancel streaming subscriptions first if living costs continued to go up.

That decision comes even though broadband bills have gone up more over recent years. Go Compare says 43% of households said broadband costs had gone up the most, while 26% said streaming subscription prices were a problem. Since 2020, standalone broadband for basic households has gone from 拢31 a month to 拢43. During roughly the last five years, Netflix鈥檚 Standard subscription went from about 拢9.99 to 拢12.99.

Catherine Hiley, Broadband, Energy and Mobile Expert at Go Compare, said, 鈥淢ost households know their broadband has got more expensive, but few stop to question whether they鈥檙e actually getting a fair deal.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 striking is that people are quicker to cancel Netflix than to challenge their broadband bill, even though broadband is where the real increases have come from.

鈥淎s broadband costs continue to rise, households shouldn鈥檛 just accept their bill. Taking the time to assess different providers could save people far more than cancelling the streaming subscriptions they actually enjoy.鈥�

But that comes with its own costs; you see, anyone who turns to illegal streaming to save a few pounds each month could end up paying much more after handing personal information to criminals or infecting a device with malware.

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What Can Illegal Streaming Cost People?

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Research released by BeStreamWise says 18% of illegal streamers suffered a malware infection during the past year after illegally accessing television, films or live sport. Earlier BeStreamWise research also says 41% had their bank details compromised, losing an average of 拢1,680.

Many people also do not recognise everything malware can do. Censuswide research carried out for BeStreamWise says only 48% knew malware can monitor online activity or access personal photos and documents. Another 43% knew it can install software without permission or lock files and demand payment. Password theft and compromised bank accounts were recognised by 58% and 55% of respondents.

James Bore, an independent cyber security expert, said, 鈥淚llegal streaming sites and apps sit outside the security checks that legitimate platforms go through. This means the risk of running into malware, or being scammed into handing over information or money, is much higher.

鈥淭he fact that one in five illegal streamers have had a malware infection in the past year shows that these aren鈥檛 rare. With so few people running antivirus software and clear knowledge gaps, infections go unnoticed. Once malware is on a device, it鈥檚 no longer yours: it鈥檚 under the control of the criminals behind it. That means everything you use the device for 鈥� every password you enter, every message you send and all your private information 鈥� is potentially visible to them.鈥�

Real experiences also show how expensive illegal streaming can become. Amelia, whose name was changed to protect her identity, lost 拢80 after trying to watch a newly released film through an illegal streaming website.

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She said, 鈥淚 thought I was paying to watch a new film, but instead I was scammed out of 拢80. The website looked convincing, so I didn鈥檛 suspect anything was wrong until they kept trying to take more payments from my account.

鈥淢y bank helped stop the transactions, but I still had to cancel my card. I鈥檇 also handed over personal information, and afterwards I was hit with endless spam and even had my Facebook account hacked. Looking back, it鈥檚 simply not worth the risk just to save a bit of money.鈥�

Neil, whose name was also changed to protect his identity, lost more than 拢2,000 after entering his PayPal details to upgrade an illegal streaming service. He said, 鈥淚 thought I was paying for an upgrade to watch more football and other sports, so I entered my PayPal details and didn鈥檛 think anything of it.

鈥淎bout a week later, I started noticing transactions I didn鈥檛 recognise, and when I tried to log into my PayPal account, I couldn鈥檛 get in. By the time everything had been investigated, more than 拢2,000 had been taken from my linked bank account.

鈥淭hankfully I eventually got the money back, but it took days of speaking to PayPal and my bank and was incredibly stressful. Looking back, it just wasn鈥檛 worth the risk. Trying to save money on watching sport ended up causing me far more hassle than I ever imagined.鈥�

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Why Should Employers Care About Illegal Streaming At Work?

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BeStreamWise also looked at what happens at many workplaces. The research says 68% of people who stream content illegally have done it on a work issued smartphone, while 58% admitted using a work laptop for illegal streaming.

A worker may think they are only saving money on a football match, television series or film, although the device they are using often has work emails, passwords, company documents and other business information. If malware gets onto that device, criminals could gain access to much more than entertainment accounts.

James Bore explained what happens after malware gets onto a device, saying, 鈥淥nce malware is on a device, it鈥檚 no longer yours: it鈥檚 under the control of the criminals behind it. That means everything you use the device for 鈥� every password you enter, every message you send and all your private information 鈥� is potentially visible to them.鈥�

That means an employee trying to save the price of a monthly streaming subscription could leave an employer dealing with compromised data, stolen passwords and expensive cyber security issues. A decision that looked like an easy way to spend less money could end up costing a business much more than the subscription fee that was avoided鈥�