Switching from cable TV to streaming has many advantages, including the ability to watch what you want on demand from any service you pay for. Unfortunately, scammers sometimes take advantage of the freedom streaming provides to trick people into buying sketchy devices.
What’s a Streaming Device?
When we talk about streaming devices, we mean any device that’s primarily used to stream TV shows, sports, and movies from services like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
Most devices like Amazon Fire TV Sticks or Roku boxes connect to your TV and stream videos over your Wi-Fi network. On the other hand, Smart TVs are televisions with streaming capabilities built in.
What Are the Risks?
Using a sketchy device or streaming app could give you a worse internet experience and even open you up to data theft or potential legal action.
What Should I Watch For?
Even when buying from a legitimate site like Amazon, you may come across streaming device listings that advertise “unlocked,” “jailbroken,” or “modded” devices, lots of free content, or Internet Protocol television (IPTV) streaming. These are red flags that may mean the device is a risky purchase.
Once you have a streaming device, you still should be on your guard for apps that ask you to disable security settings, apps that make you dig deep in menus to access content, and app stores that seem less reliable than ones like the Roku app store. These may be signs that the app or store is trying to exploit you.
Always remember: if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
