Piggybacking WiFi Criminal Offence

The use of your neighbour’s WiFi without their permission is a criminal offence.

20:39 22 May 2019

Many people do not see any harm in using their neighbour’s WiFi without permission. However, accessing somebody else’s broadband by guessing their password or sneaking in through an unsecured connection is against the law.

 

One man, known only as Robert, have learned this the difficult way after landing himself in major trouble after using a broadband connection he did not pay for.

 

In February, he was invited to the police station for an interview in relation to a broadband use and it was determined that he regularly log on to his neighbour’s WiFi on his mobile phone. He now faces prosecution.

 

The unauthorised use of someone else’s WiFi is in violation of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 or the Communications Act 2003.

 

A report has found that people aged between 35 and 44 are the most likely to piggyback off a neighbour’s connection.