Berwick police arrest Wi-Fi "thieves"

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 21 Feb 2008 at 11:38

Berwick police have arrested two men after they were caught piggybacking an unsecured wireless network.

Officers were called to a house in the Northumberland town after the householder spotted two men sat in a car using laptops.

The men were arrested for dishonestly obtaining a communications service and are on bail pending further enquiries.

Neighbourhood Inspector Sharon Stavers told the Berwick Advertiser that Wi-Fi users should ensure that there wireless networks are properly secured. "They should make sure that all the security systems are in place to keep their computers safe," she says.

Arrests for Wi-Fi "theft" are rare, though a 2007 survey by security firm Sophos found that more than half of UK internet users had piggybacked another person's connection.

In August of last year a 39-year-old man was arrested after Community Support Officers spotted him using his laptop whilst sitting on a wall outside a house in Chiswick, but he was released without charge. And in April Worcestershire police cautioned two people hiding inside a car.

An Isleworth court fined Gregory Straszkiewicz £500 under the 2003 Communications Act in 2005.