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Game of Thrones has consistently been one of the most pirated TV shows on the internet and HBO is trying to stop people illegally watching the latest season, which debuted this week.

The American TV network has partnered up with data analytics firm IP Echelon to monitor torrents of the epic fantasy show and log the IP addresses of those in the US that download it.

According to TorrentFreak , the company is sending out thousands of warnings both to the alleged pirates themselves and to their internet service providers (ISPs).

(Image: HBO)

The warning begins with the message: “We have information leading us to believe that the IP address xx.xxx.xxx.xx was used to download or share Game of Thrones without authorization.”

It then goes on to inform the alleged pirate that they are breaking copyright laws.

“HBO owns the copyright or exclusive rights to Game of Thrones, and the unauthorized download or distribution constitutes copyright infringement,” it reads.

"Downloading unauthorized or unknown content is also a security risk for computers, devices, and networks."

This isn't the first time that HBO has attempted to crack down on illegal distribution of the George R.R. Martin fantasy series. Last year's season was the most pirated TV show of the year.

However, the company is slightly hamstrung when it comes to dealing with shady pirates. It can't find out the identity behind each IP address without going to court, and there are several ways for users to hide their own IP address before downloading or sharing a torrent.

It is an increasing problem for the company as the series gains in popularity. According to MUSO.com , the season 7 premiere was downloaded and streamed illegally an astonishing 90 MILLION times across the globe in the three days following its release.

The United States topped the list of illegal activity but the UK came second. Rounding out the top three pirate countries was Germany.

"There is no denying that these figures are huge, so they're likely to raise more than a few eyebrows in the mainstream industry, but it's in line with the sort of scale we see across piracy sites and should be looked at objectively," said Andy Chatterley, the CEO and co-founder of MUSO.

"What we're seeing here isn't just P2P torrent downloads but unauthorized streams and every type of piracy around the premiere. This is the total audience picture, which is usually unreported.

(Image: E+)

He added that audience figures have always been a critical measure for studios and TV execs to assess the health of shows.

"The fact that there's been over 90 million streams and downloads of the Game of Thrones season seven premiere outside of the official channels in the first three days since airing not only shows just how popular this show is, but the massive opportunity to engage people and bring them back to legitimate mediums," he said.



"Of course, Game of Thrones’ growing popularity over the seasons has been no secret, but the numbers here show a much more complete picture, which is often missing from audience figures and is likely to be far bigger than anyone anticipated."

Here in the UK, Game of Thrones is distributed by Sky and can be streamed legally through either Sky Go or NowTV.