People with dodgy boxes are being warned to stop using the devices

It is understood that 13 legal notices were issued to providers of illegal streaming TV services in Ireland.

The notices were issued during an operation in December, according to RTÉ.

The notice has warned the providers to stop streaming illegally immediately.

If they do not stop streaming then they will face consequences including criminal prosecution.

The 13 notices were issued across Dublin, Cork, Donegal, Offaly, Limerick, Louth, Clare, Westmeath and Laois.

They were delivered in person, via email, and by post.

The operation in December has seen some success in services being shut down.

The Federation Against Copyright Theft also saw subscriptions being terminated and paid settlements agreed.

FACT has been working with law enforcement and broadcasters to shut down dodgy boxes in Ireland.

In a statement, FACT said people are unaware of how dangerous dodgy boxes are:

"The action is having an impact on the piracy landscape in Ireland, with more operators being identified than ever before, with more illegal services being disrupted impacting tens of thousands of end-users who would have watched the streams."

The public has been warned to stop using dodgy boxes as the providers are often linked to organised crime.

You may be at risk of having personal data stolen, fraud, as well as identity theft.

"They are breaking the law, making criminal profits, and putting consumers at real risk of malware, data loss, and identity theft."

"We want to protect consumers from these risks and operations such as this ensure the message goes out."