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Investigators clamping down on "dodgy" Fire TV Sticks look for one keyword in people's messages. It comes as recent estimates say up to four million Brits are watching illegally streamed content in their homes.

Police investigations into the devices loaded with illegal streams have led to fines and even prison sentences. The sticks often cost users around £50 and come with apps that can access content that would otherwise be paid for, including live Premier League matches.

According to the Mail Online, one investigator says they look for one red flag as they trawl through massive amounts of data, including messages. That key word, they say, is "illegal".

While on the face of it that might sound obvious, the investigator says it speeds up the task of combing through the messages. The investigator said: "You would be surprised by how many suspects message others with phrases like, 'this is illegal', or 'we need be careful as it's illegal'."

The investigator says they also search for words they "know will appear". This can often include things like the stream name, the subscription title, or even the username of well-known admins.

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), an intelligence-led investigation service that represents paid-for broadcasters and rights owners, says that searching for these key terms lets them "concentrate on the evidence" they need. This often yields digital breadcrumbs they can use as part of their wider investigation.

FACT chairman Kieron Sharp told Mail Online: "The importance of doing word searching is that if you seize a computer and there's like three terabytes of data on it, you're never going to search the whole computer. You're only going to search the computer for your terms.

"You're never going to know what's fully on it. So you have to concentrate on the evidence. You'll know the name of the stream, the name of the subscription they're selling, the names of the people involved. You might even have a customer database."

Sharp told Yahoo News that it "wasn't worth the risk" getting caught using an illegal streaming device. Nonetheless the entertainment industry has seen a surge in the so-called "dodgy" Fire Sticks or boxes that offer huge catalogues of pirated shows while presenting themselves similarly to Amazon Prime Video or Netflix.

Crucially, the illegal streaming services offer subscription services at a fraction of the cost compared to the media companies. Their surge in popularity has also seen them become more accepted by the public, with the recent Sports Industry Report 2026 finding 60 per cent of people had no issue with using them.

People caught using the streaming sticks are sent a letter by FACT on the first occasion. This can sometimes come from their local police force however.

Sharp explains that FACT is "very keen not to criminalise everybody". He explains the main focus is on the people providing the illegal streaming devices.

He did however highlight the case of Liverpool man Jonathan Edge who was jailed for three years and four months after both using and providing the devices. Sharp says users of the devices can face unlimited fines and up to a year in prison.

There are however currently no known cases of people being jailed merely for using a stick. Amazon is also said to be clamping down on access to the apps used by the services.