Beware: Offers to "Share" Your Cable Account

robbieduncan said:

Users of this forum please beware of users offering (via PM, posts, email or otherwise) to share your US based Cable TV account/login, either in exchange for cash or even for free. Whilst you are free to enter into such an agreement if you want you need to be aware that the person you "share" with will have access to all your account details and you are almost certainly breaking your contract with your cable provider. If you see posts in the forums asking for this please report them as such posts are against the rules.

Thanks

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I would never. Nothing like seeing your cable bill go up a few hundred dollars because they added additional services.

I didn't even know things like this happened! Why would anyone want to link to my cable and how would that benefit them in the first place?

Has anyone gotten suckered into giving out their account information? Hey, you want my social security number too?? Sure no problem!

efpierce said:

I didn't even know things like this happened! Why would anyone want to link to my cable and how would that benefit them in the first place?

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They can use your credentials to login to online streaming services that require you have a cable account, like HBO Go, etc.

aristobrat said:

They can use your credentials to login to online streaming services that require you have a cable account, like HBO Go, etc.

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Thank you! Now I get it, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what they could be doing with my cable tv.

While I'm not a sharing person, so this isn't a danger for me. The only thing I've found that I can do with my username/password is log into a few channel apps on kid's iPads. Is there a way I could get charged from a five-year-old watching Disney, Nick or Cartoon channels?

Southern Dad said:

While I'm not a sharing person, so this isn't a danger for me. The only thing I've found that I can do with my username/password is log into a few channel apps on kid's iPads. Is there a way I could get charged from a five-year-old watching Disney, Nick or Cartoon channels?

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If there was a charge they are required to say so from the top. Generally access to those apps is considered part of your account which is why all you have to do is sign in.

My best friend shares his account with me for a chunk of change and I wouldn't dare add services or view his financial information, but I definitely agree with the warning. Good friends is completely different than strangers on the internet.

mjschabow said:

My best friend shares his account with me for a chunk of change and I wouldn't dare add services or view his financial information, but I definitely agree with the warning. Good friends is completely different than strangers on the internet.

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My cable tv company allows me to share my plan. They give me the ability to create sub-accounts that do not have access to change/view my account info.

2010mini said:

My cable tv company allows me to share my plan. They give me the ability to create sub-accounts that do not have access to change/view my account info.

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Nice!

2010mini said:

My cable tv company allows me to share my plan. They give me the ability to create sub-accounts that do not have access to change/view my account info.

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Just curious... What cable company is that?

BFaro said:

Just curious... What cable company is that?

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Verizon Fios

is sharing with your wife/girlfriend illegal?

unplugme71 said:

is sharing with your wife/girlfriend illegal?

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Ha.. .read it fast and thought you said, "is sharing your wife/girlfriend illegal?"

There may well be legal implications as well. There were cases in the UK recently whereby people sharing ISP connections ended up in court as their cheap-ass colleagues/friends had downloaded all sorts of copyrighted content.

This scam has been popular for some time now, too many easy marks.

Reload this Page Beware: Offers to "Share" Your Cable Account

Thanks friend for the great information sharing.I am new to this forum.
I thing it will be helpful for me.

2010mini said:

Verizon Fios

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Comcast also allows you to create sub accounts without the ability to access user info or to change/add services.

About all I am aware of the person being able to do is to access apps on their phone/tablet/apple tv/etc to watch existing cable channels, though I am sure there are more nefarious things that could be done by some enterprising individual.

efpierce said:

I didn't even know things like this happened! Why would anyone want to link to my cable and how would that benefit them in the first place?

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My thoughts exactly. Crazy.

garya73 said:

Comcast also allows you to create sub accounts without the ability to access user info or to change/add services.

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many folks aren't aware of such things, kind of like how they don't know about phishing emails etc. Scammers prey on that.

DISH also allows a user to create sub accounts with no access to the full account details or the ability to add/change services.

Ummm, so what happens when the person "sharing" your account is downloading child porn, selling drugs, or whatever?

I do not live in the USA. I assume that you are talking about sharing both TV and internet.

AtomicGrog said:

There may well be legal implications as well. There were cases in the UK recently whereby people sharing ISP connections ended up in court as their cheap-ass colleagues/friends had downloaded all sorts of copyrighted content.

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sarbear said:

My thoughts exactly. Crazy.

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Linuxpro said:

Ummm, so what happens when the person "sharing" your account is downloading child porn, selling drugs, or whatever?

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Sharing a cable connection is a very different animal than sharing a cable login/account. You can't download porn by simply logging into someone else's account. That's not how that works. By logging in, you have access to their account settings, payment history, billing, TV apps, etc. But you do not have access to their connection unless you have access to their home, office, or wherever the connection is installed.

Interesting. Years ago, when I lived in the USA, I had DirecTV, and I forget who I had for internet (maybe Comcast). When you said "share", I assumed you referred to sharing internet via WiFi.

I did not have a cable box. I had a DirecTV reciever. I did not know they had apps. I knew people who hacked into U-Boot, and then enabled busybox on thier DirecTV boxes. Many of them added apps to thier DirecTV boxes, but the apps all came from the internet (open source, and requied compling most likely). Recorded TV is not encrypted on the hard drive so some people figured out how to transfer the files to other computers, and burn them onto DVD. I never took the initiative to try it myself.