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Which IPTV service should I choose?

How not to be taken in ...

IPTV

8/10/20243 min read

Firstly, let’s try to divide IPTV services into two distinct categories.

1 Verified IPTV servers (properly identified content distribution companies, with a registered office, tax number and genuine contact details) – examples: Meo, Vodafone, Plex, etc...

2 Unverified IPTV servers (those where we do not know where they are, who manages them, or whether they have the necessary licences to broadcast the content they transmit) – if you do a Google search, you will be amazed at the number of sites that appear.

Here, I will only discuss the unverified ones.

So let’s see what you should bear in mind.

I did a Google search for “iptv portugal”. I went to check out the first result that came up. It’s worth remembering that being number one on Google doesn’t mean quality; to be top of the Google search results, all you need to do is spend money. Yes, money is Google’s best friend and, consequently, that of its search results.

When I opened the site, there were immediate red flags (signs you should look out for on other sites you might visit)

Well then… “Portugal’s best IPTV service of 2024: Stream smarter!”. It’s clear that this text was either generated by AI (Artificial Intelligence) or copied by a translator from another website. After all, “stream smarter” isn’t really a phrase that makes sense. It’s also curious to read in the small print that there are over 17,000 channels. Are they all Portuguese?

If we scroll further down the page, there’s another warning sign. You can buy "3 MESSES, 6 MESSES". Once again, this is either AI-generated or poorly translated. It clearly should say ‘Meses’. This shows once again that this is not a well-maintained or professional website.

I decided to check which payment methods they accepted.

I entered the requested details, of which there were quite a few. Name, email and phone number... (I entered all fake details) and then... well, I couldn’t believe it...

I get a "Thank you" (which means 'Obrigado' in English...). The website is in Portuguese, but the thank-you message is in English. Curious. After the "Obrigado", if I want to pay and watch TV, I have to call a WhatsApp number. So why did I fill in all that information? They already have my email, first and last name, and phone number. They’re halfway there to scamming me. And is the WhatsApp link actually linked to a real number or a virtual number (a technique used by a large number of scams)? Could clicking on that WhatsApp icon download malware onto my phone or PC that gives access to all my contacts (remember the recent WhatsApp scams that came to light)? I didn’t even try clicking on the icon...

Finally, to wrap up, I went to check the reviews on Google. I can say I wasn’t surprised by the comments.

The "owner" of the service has replied to one of the comments. But the reply once again seems to have been generated by AI or very poorly translated. There is a third possibility. The "owner" of the site isn’t even Portuguese or speaks Portuguese... Most online scams continue to be carried out by African countries, of which Nigeria is a prime example...

Needless to say, the address that comes up on Google is fictitious and there is no pay-TV broadcasting business at that location.

My advice regarding a website like this is to stay well away. As far away as possible. As soon as you spot the first warning signs, don’t even try to find out what payment methods they accept or what kind of service they provide... spend as little time as possible on a page that doesn’t look professional; it’s not worth the risk. Never give your personal details or bank details to a website of this kind.

If you do want to take the risk, at least use a virtual card and cancel it immediately after the purchase.

Be careful, watch out for the warning signs.

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