What use are stolen smart cards?

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GeoNomad

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Really this is just curiosity at this point.

Someone broke into our place and stole a few things.

All our booze. The change from the dresser.

And the smart cards from both ExpressVu satellite receivers.

Probably some kids...

Googling about, I don't find any market for such cards. I also don't find any instructions for converting them to pirate cards.

As I understand it, the cards are keyed to the specific receiver, so they can't be used with another receiver, can they?

OTOH, ExpressVu blocked the cards when I reported them stolen.

I had to pay the exorbitant $69 each for replacements. Grrr.

I guess we are lucky that only the cards were taken and not any of the equipment, but just curious what the motivation was for taking these cards. They went to a lot of trouble to find the second receiver.

Waiting for the new cards to come gives me time to ponder as we can't even watch the programming that we recorded without a card in the 5900. So no TV during Wimbledon and World Cup! Grrr.

Anyone up on this stuff?

Geo
 
That's a very interesting question. I would love to know if your house was targetted becasue it has a dish and the perps were specifically interested in obtaining the cards and have a buyer for them. Like you I thought they'd only be good with the receiver they're paired with.
 
At one time, the cards could be reprogrammed to pirate signals. AFAIK, that is no longer possible.
 
I would say they are young and dumb and thought the cards were either worth money or that if they left the receivers but took the cards that they could get free programming and not be traced. Sort of like kids stealing cell phones and then having them shut off a few hours later and not being able to be activated, pointless.
 
People (Thives) are obviously not the sharpest knives in the drawer as the cards are of no use whatsoever, without the receiver they are inserted into.

I still experience this probably once a week, where a card goes 'missing' from a receiver. On one job site back in February, the thief actually brought it back and handed it to a colleague of mine, saying he had "borrowed" it for the weekend to watch TV at home. When it would not work he returned it.

They mistakenly believe that the card has magical powers and with it they can watch Free TV. They can't.
 
Thanks to all for the replies.

I guess it is as I thought, they were just dumb kids who thought the cards would work in another receiver.

They probably didn't appreciate my good Scotch either. Would have been just as happy with cheap liquor.

Geo.
 
Well if they could unlock them, which would be required to use them for piracy, then they could be made to work in any receiver and with any half-decent blocker, Bell "blocking" them wouldn't stop them either.

Maybe they heard a rumor that they would be unlocked soon and are stocking up in hopes of making a killing once they're worth something. Or just dumb kids. Who knows.
 
$69 each?! :o

yeah they probably thought they could get "Free TV", or sell it for money
Kids these days...
*facepalm*
 
I think you have it wrong - not dumb (scumbag yes), a dummy would have taken the rcvr - a stolen rcvr is worth nothing. A card on the other hand may be worthless today but if the current cam security is ever compromised it could be worth a pretty penny.
 
People who steal stuff from your house aren't thinking of the long-term investment. They want stuff they can unload right away. Those cards probably ended up in a trash can somewhere, after nobody would buy them.

I can understand Bell's logic behind the cost for replacing the card. If they were cheap to replace, unscrupulous people would "lose" a lot of cards and try to hack them.
 
I disagree, a stolen receiver is worth more than a stolen card. A lesser or broken receiver could be cloned on the newer and better stolen receiver and Bell would have no way of knowing. Of course that involves quite a bit more skill than the average burglar would possess, especially on newer JTAG-less receivers, but that's another story.

Plus, if (when) the card is hacked, then it can be used in the stolen receiver as well.
 
despe666 - that is true but didn't want to get into that here......but....
Any echostar rcvr worth any money is in fact a "jtagless" as you say.
How many people other than your "average burglar" do you actually know that posess this skill to clone one of these newer rcvrs? Removing, programming, and resoldering, a surface mount eeprom to a pcb - not many I'm sure.

So, is a rcvr, new or old, worth any money - NO.
 
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